Shrink art, Shrinky Dinks, or Shrinkles is a toy and activity kit consisting of sheets of

polystyrene Polystyrene (PS) is a synthetic polymer made from monomers of the aromatic hydrocarbon styrene. Polystyrene can be solid or foamed. General-purpose polystyrene is clear, hard, and brittle. It is an inexpensive resin per unit weight. It i ...

which can be cut with standard household scissors. When heated, the cut shapes become about nine times thicker while their horizontal and vertical dimensions reduce to about one-third the original size, resulting in hard, flat forms which retain their initial color and shape. They reached the height of their popularity in the 1980s and are still available from retailers. They can be used for a variety of things like charms and pins. Most sets are pre-printed with outline images of popular children's characters or other subjects, which are then colored in before baking.

History

Shrinky Dinks were invented in 1973 by Betty Morris and Kate Bloomberg, two housewives in Brookfield, Wisconsin, as a Cub Scout project with their sons. The first kits were sold at a local shopping mall and became very popular. Shrinky Dinks were soon licensed to be manufactured by the major toy companies of the time such as Milton Bradley, Colorforms,

Western Publishing Western Publishing, also known as Western Printing and Lithographing Company, was an American company founded in 1907 in Racine, Wisconsin, best known for publishing the Little Golden Books. Its Golden Books Family Entertainment division also ...

and Skyline Toys. Alex Brands acquired Shrinky Dinks in 2014. As of 2020, the original brand ''Shrinky Dinks'' is owned by Just Play Products.

Usage

The base material consists of thin, flexible

plastic Plastics are a wide range of synthetic polymers, synthetic or Semisynthesis, semisynthetic materials composed primarily of Polymer, polymers. Their defining characteristic, Plasticity (physics), plasticity, allows them to be Injection moulding ...

(#6) sheets. Prior to heating, the plastic sheets can be colored with felt-tip

pen PEN may refer to: * (National Ecological Party), former name of the Brazilian political party Patriota (PATRI) * PEN International, a worldwide association of writers ** English PEN, the founding centre of PEN International ** PEN America, located ...

s, acrylic paint, colored pencils, etc. and cut into shapes. However, oily or waxy substances (such as cheap colored pencils, crayons or oil paint) are not suitable because they melt or burn in high heat. When heated with an Easy-Bake Oven, a conventional

oven upA double oven A ceramic oven An oven is a tool that is used to expose materials to a hot environment. Ovens contain a hollow chamber and provide a means of heating the chamber in a controlled way. In use since antiquity, they have been use ...

, or a heat gun, the plastic shrinks and becomes thicker and more rigid, while retaining the colored design. Although Shrinky Dinks are primarily an

arts and crafts The Arts and Crafts movement was an international trend in the Decorative arts, decorative and fine arts that developed earliest and most fully in the British Isles and subsequently spread across the British Empire and to the rest of Europe and ...

product marketed for children, adult crafters and artists also use the product for jewelry making and other projects. Blank sheets are available in bulk for this purpose.

Applications

In 2008,

University of California, Irvine The University of California, Irvine (UCI or UC Irvine) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Irvine, California, United States. One of the ten campuses of the University of California system, U ...

Professor Michelle Khine applied Shrinky Dinks to create tiny structures for the application of

microfluidics Microfluidics refers to a system that manipulates a small amount of fluids (10−9 to 10−18 liters) using small channels with sizes of ten to hundreds of micrometres. It is a multidisciplinary field that involves molecular analysis, molecular bi ...

to topics such as stem cell research. In 2022, Michelle Khine researched the use of Shrinky Dinks for microscale diagnostics and wearable biosensors for monitoring health. In 2009, an art therapy supervision class at Emporia State University explored the use of Shrinky Dinks in

art therapy Art therapy is a distinct discipline that incorporates creative methods of expression through visual art media. Art therapy, as a creative arts therapy profession, originated in the fields of art and psychotherapy and may vary in definition. Art ...

. In 2014, Shrinky Dinks were presented as an art therapy medium in a workshop at the American Art Therapy Association Conference. In 2014, a team from

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

and

MIT The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of modern technology and sc ...

used Shrinky Dinks to create self-assembling robots.

In popular culture

In 1992, the

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

rock band

Sugar Ray Sugar Ray is an American rock band formed in Newport Beach, California, in 1986. Originally playing heavier funk metal and nu metal style music, the band achieved mainstream popularity in 1997 with their more pop-influenced single " Fly". Th ...

formed with the name "Shrinky Dinx", but later changed it upon threat of lawsuit from the

Milton Bradley Company Milton Bradley Company or simply Milton Bradley (MB) was an American board game manufacturer established by Milton Bradley (1836-1911) in Springfield, Massachusetts, Springfield, Massachusetts, in 1860. In 1920, it absorbed the game production o ...

References

External links

Shrinky-Dink microfluidics: rapid generation of deep and rounded patternsA children’s toy inspires a cheap, easy production method for high-tech diagnostic chips
{{Webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210414170613/http://www2.technologyreview.com/tr35/profile.aspx?TRID=764 , date=2021-04-14
The Magical World of Shrinky Dinks
Art and craft toys Products introduced in 1973 1970s toys Goods manufactured in the United States