Recipe for Water
We make a lot of magic happen at the Museum. This week that magic included creating water from scratch-a stagnant pool as dark as the night sky emerging right from the exhibit hall floor. But while the water isn't real, it will hopefully appear so when visitors stop by the habitat diorama in the new nocturnal exhibit.
So, how did we make that happen?
Supplies
- Abundance of time and energy
- Wooden base--the more grain, the better!
- Paint--must be able to mimic artist Donna Post's specific blue from the mural behind (or at least attempt)
- Any brush from the building that's not already in use
- High gloss epoxy--and necessary equipment to mix and not make a mess
- Materials for temporary border around base--Popsicle sticks from Junior Naturalist supplies will do
- Fully-charged drill and most sizes of bits
- More artificial plants than you think are necessary (double your list!)
- Clear elastic sealant of unknown origin
- One Sora
- Patience
Instructions
Step 1: Have your wonderful volunteers built a diorama base for you from scratch? Perfect! You're already one step closer to completing a habitat diorama. Now identify where you will place the water body.
Step 2: Carefully mix the paints you have on hand to achieve a color which resembles the blue on the backdrop. Keep in mind that the mural and diorama base should blend together to mimic a real scene.
Step 3: Paint on the blue of the water body and allow to dry. Note that skimping in layers will actually yield a convincing water texture as wavy wood grains show through.
Step 4: Once dried, create a make-shift barrier around the perimeter of the water. This should keep the epoxy from escaping the edges of the wooden base and creating a mess on the exhibit floor. For added challenge, I used electrical tape (easy to peel off) around Popsicle sticks we had on-hand.
Step 5: Mix and apply a thin layer of epoxy on top of the paint. Make sure every surface is covered in order to create that beautiful glimmer of moonlight as it bounces off the surface of the water.
Step 6: After only three days of dry time, the water should begin to look somewhat realistic. Now you must drill 50+ holes through the base where you will insert an array of artificial, native plants. Make sure that every hole is large enough for the stem of each plant to make it through, but small enough that plants are not loose. We wouldn't want toppling cattails in our water.
Step 7: Even though we didn't think to gather a vacuum with the rest of our supplies, we'll need that too. Drilling holes through epoxy, paint, and wood is messy business! Clean up the area once all plants have been inserted into the base.
Step 8: Thanks to a random online tutorial, we've learned that elastic sealant is a great tool to mimic ripples or splashes in the water. Carefully work that around the plants or anywhere needing some texture.
Step 9: This scene needs some wildlife! A Sora will do the trick. This common waterbird is fairly secretive, so we want to give our audience an opportunity to see its big, silly feet. Carefully place the bird in the water after all danger of debris is gone. Once last time, drill a hole through the base so that the foot wire can be secured.
After all that hard work, make sure to show off your creation and take a little break before moving on to the landscape.