Say you run out of paint, but you’ve got a blank canvas or piece of paper that is just begging to be made into a painting. What do you do? Make paint from scratch! Humans have been making paint for millenia using whatever materials they’ve had on hand in or near their home. Now it’s your turn!

Your challenge is to make your own homemade paint, and use it to make art.

Submit Your Homemade Paint Art Here!

Did you make an artistic masterpiece from homemade paint? What did you use to create your homemade paint? Use the link above to submit a photo, video, or story that documents your paint creation. You will be able to choose whether your submission is included in our Gallery of Excellence and if you’d like to receive a Certificate of Awesome in the mail!

There are many, many ways to make homemade paint. Part of this challenge is to figure out how to make paint out of materials, ingredients, and supplies you already have. Here are some places to start

Stuff with good paint “texture” but not much color:

Stuff that can be used for color pigment:

Stuff that is basically already paint:

Science Friday co-created this resource as contributing members of CoBuild19, a collective of educators, organizations, and researchers working to help youth and their caregivers spend quality time together building and creating. The work was supported by grants from the National Science Foundation and Infosys Foundation. Learn about the initiative and find more activities at CoBuildAtHome.com.

Cover image credit: Caroline Gravino

Ariel Zych is Science Friday’s director of audience. She is a former teacher and scientist who spends her free time making food, watching arthropods, and being outside.

Let's go to (virtual) camp! Science Friday is hosting a week of free DIY maker challenges for kids, families, and caregivers on July 24 - 31. Anyone can...

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