Upcycled Crayons

I was digging in our craft supplies closet at the library the other day when I came upon the box where crayons go to die.  You probably have seen its twin: a large plastic tub full of brand-name and generic crayons in a wide variety of colors and conditions.  This is a great box to have if you are doing a craft involving crayons, but most children will avoid digging through such an overwhelming pile of crayons just to find the one they want.

This begs the question: what does a librarian do with a giant box of unused crayons? My answer was simple: make them into something people will use.  I began this project in time for Earth Day, which isn't a holiday we make much of in the library, but which I thought tied in well with what I was doing.

First, I peeled a bunch of the crayons.  Then I broke them into smaller pieces.  I melted these crayons in a muffin tin in a 250 degree oven for about twenty minutes before allowing them to cool on the counter.  Once they were cool, I flipped over the tin and out popped some crayon disks, each composed of crayons that are generally the same color.  Once I made several of these crayons, I started making mix-up crayons, each composed of a variety of colors, so that kids who want to could color in blue, yellow, red, orange, green, purple, and black all at the same time.

I now have a box of upcycled crayons that my patrons can use at programs. I also set out a representative sample on our passive craft table, along with some scrap paper for coloring and a flyer explaining to the parents how to make these crayons at home. I will definitely be bringing these out at our toddler story time, since the disc-shaped crayons are much easier for little hands to hold and use.

Things to Note:

1. As with all programs involving fun things, I would avoid placing too many crayons out on a table unsupervised, as fun library things tend to disappear when no one is around to watch them. I put out a small representative sampling of our crayons and have saved the rest for programs or other times when I can keep an eye on them.
2. Have someone else peel the crayons for you. Maybe make that part of a program - help peel the crayons and break them apart, and next time you can color with the new crayons!
3. Our muffin pan now has some semi-permanent crayon stains on it.  These can be eliminated through several washings, but if that will bother you, use muffin papers or get a muffin pan that you don't mind being the "craft pan." 

Have you found any ways to "upcycle" items in your library?