Earth Crayons & Play Dough Recipe (2024)

Published: Apr 5, 2013 · Modified: May 9, 2023 by Tonia Larson

These Earth Day Activities for Earth crayons and this homemade play dough recipe is fun to make with kids.Bonus points if you can reuse old crayons to make new ones!

The Earth crayons and blue and green play dough can be given as gifts to classmates or made in elementary school classrooms. These Earth Day Activities can be made with kids, or if you are like me, they can be made by adults and given to the kids in their lives. Every kid seems to love crayons and play dough. And when they can help make them, that is even better!

I showed the earth crayons to my husband and asked him what they looked like. He said they look like bottle caps. I asked him to guess again, and he said, “Earth?”

When I told him yes, he said, “They aren’t the right shape.” So, if you are like my husband and can’t look at a circle and imagine a sphere, just bear with me on this one and pretend they look like earth crayons!

How To Make Earth Crayons

Every year, my kids bring home their leftover crayons from school. The older they get, the less they use crayons, so many of them are still in great condition.

We put them all in a box, and their little cousins use the crayons when they come over, and we use them to make new crayons.

Step One: Peel Crayons

Preheat the oven to 250°F. Peel the wrapper off of the blue, white, and green crayons.

We love Crayola crayons, so that is what I used to make these.

Step Two: Break Crayons

Break or cut the crayons into small pieces.

Start by putting a few white pieces in the bottom of a muffin tin. Top the white pieces with the green and blue pieces.

The more crayon pieces you add, the thicker the crayons will be.

Step Three: Bake

Bake them at 250°F for 15-20 minutes, until the crayons are melted.

Carefully remove the muffin tin from the oven without mixing the colors. Allow the crayons to cool on the counter, and then put them in the fridge for 30 minutes.

Remove the crayons from the fridge, turn the muffin tin upside down, and give it a smack on the counter to pop the crayons out.

How To Make Play Dough

The recipe that I used for making the play dough is one that I received from my mother-in-law. She made this play dough for my oldest child when she was little and still makes it for her grandchildren today.

Put flour, water salt, cream of tartar, and canola oil in a saucepan.

Cook the mixture over medium heat, stirring constantly until a ball of dough forms.

Remove from heat, and when the dough is cool enough to touch, turn it out onto the counter and knead it until smooth.

Divide the dough into two pieces. Place the dough on a large piece of parchment paper to protect your counter.

Put several drops of food coloring on the dough and carefully knead it until the color is uniform. Add more food coloring if desired.

Divide the colored play dough into small pieces, roll them into balls, and put them in small cellophane bags. Tie the bags closed with coordinating baker’s twine.

Make these Earth Day Oreo Truffles to enjoy along with the activities.