Learning Labs and Lectures

The following lectures, lab activities and learning materials provide instruction for a variety of fun and educational experiments to do at home or in a group setting with common household items.

What to Expect

• A brief description of the topic and why it is important.
• Lectures act as an introduction to pulp and paper science for those new or unfamiliar with these topics.
• Lab manuals describe experiments and activities suitable for teachers or adults to perform as demonstrations.
• Experiments can also be performed by high school students with adult supervision.
• Take appropriate safety measures for all chemicals or household hazards, like using a blender.
• For questions or more information about any of the lectures or labs, please contact Dr. Richard Venditti.

Hands-on Labs

Paper Product Design

• Egg Drop (File) – This lab encourages students to creatively design a container that will protect an egg from dropping three floors using only poster board, tape and scissors.

Paper Making

• Detailed Handsheet Procedure (File) – This 21-page document explains the procedure for making handsheets from non-wood pulp produced in the pulping labs. It describes the refining process and procedure using a blender of virgin pulps. It also has suggestions for further projects in papermaking. The handsheet mold used in this lab can be obtained by contacting Dr. Richard Venditti.
• General Brief Handsheet Procedure (File)– This 4-page document explains how to make a handsheet for further display or testing. This procedure does not include the refining process. The handsheet mold used in this lab can be obtained by contacting Dr. Richard Venditti.
• Testing Paper Strength (File)– This five-page lab demonstrates how to perform a simple experiment to determine the strength of paper. Materials needed to perform this test quantitatively include a plastic bucket, duct tape, pennies or similar items, scissors and a ruler. Paper strength can be tested on copy paper, newsprint, recycled handsheets, handsheets from virgin pulps, etc.
• Paper Handsheet Mold (File) – This file contains materials and dimensions useful in building your own handsheet mold.

Pulping

• Pulping Lab Data Sheet (File)– This one-page data and observation sheet should be used with the bleaching lab.

Recycling

• Handsheet Making from Recycled Pulp (File)– This four-page document explains in a 20-step process for making handsheets from recycled fibers. The handsheet mold used in this lab can be obtained by contacting Dr. Richard Venditti. It is the same file as the General Brief Handsheet Procedure found in the papermaking labs above.
• Screening Recycled Pulp (File) – This four-page document describes how to perform coarse screening of recycled fiber to remove large contaminants, such as plastic film. The lab also demonstrates how to calculate the yield of a recycling process and demonstrates that the paper recycling process itself generates a significant waste stream. Questions and further experiments are listed at the end of the lab.