Scratch-and-sniff art project

Here's a fun art project for for children of all ages.

From Wondertime Magazine on-line.

To turn the classic still life into scratch-and-sniff art, I replaced watercolors with Kool-Aid, told my kindergarten class it was a secret solution, and let them loose. I felt like Willy Wonka as I watched the kids press their noses to their artwork and yell, "The oranges really smell like oranges!" — Jessica Burkett

1. Cover work area with newspaper.


2. Heap the fruit into the bowl, letting some overflow onto the table (the more fruit there is to paint, the better).


3. Use markers to draw an outline on the watercolor paper of the still life you've just created, but don't color anything in with the markers.


4. In separate cups, use separate paintbrushes to mix each packet of unsweetened Kool-Aid with 2 tablespoons of water. Arrange the cups in a row and place the corresponding Kool-Aid packets in front of the cups to identify each flavor.


5. Paint each fruit you've drawn with the appropriate Kool-Aid "paint." (Note: Grape Kool-Aid looks black when painted on, but it dries to a deep purple color.) Dry about 20 minutes. If some globs of paint take longer to dry, blot the excess with a tissue.


6. When dry, scratch a painted fruit lightly with your fingernail and sniff. And don't worry if the kids taste the "fruit"; it's so sour they'll probably only do it once.

Does anyone have any other really fun art projects? Or resources for art project ideas? Please share.