Did you know that you can make paper yourself? Paper has been made for thousands of years more or less the same way you can make paper today. For many years, because paper had to be made by hand, it was very expensive. People treated it with great care. They never threw any paper away. They always saved it after they used it, and made new paper from it.

Paper can be made from wood, cotton rags, linen fabric, grass, and many other natural products. It can also be made from old newspaper. Here's how.

You will need

• Two and-a-half single pages from a newspaper
• A whole section of a newspaper
• A blender -- Ask one of your parents or your teacher to help you use the blender.
• A measuring cup
• Five cups of water
• A big square pan that's at least 3 inches deep
• A piece of window screen that fits inside the pan
• A flat piece of wood the size of a newpaper's front page

Here's What You Do.

1. Tear the two and-a-half pages of newspaper into tiny pieces.
2. Before you use the blender, ask your parents or teacher to help you. Don't use your blender from home without your parents' permission!
3. Drop the pieces of paper into the blender.
4. Pour five cups of water into the blender.
5. Put the top on the blender. (You don't want to have to scrape newspaper mush off the walls!).
6. Switch the blender on for a few seconds. The paper will mix with the water and become what is called "pulp."
7. Turn off the blender.
8. Open the newspaper section and spread it on the floor or table top.
9. Pour about one inch of water into the pan.
10. Pour the blended paper (pulp) into a measuring cup.
11. Put the screen on the bottom of the pan.
12. Pour one cup of blended paper pulp over the screen.
13. Spread the pulp evenly through the water over the screen with your fingers. Feels mushy, doesn't it?
14. Lift the screen so that the pulp stays on top of it. Let the water drain.
15. Place the screen with the pulp on top on half of the spread out newspaper section.
16. Close the newspaper section so that the edges meet again.
17. This next step is very important. Carefully flip over the newspaper section so that the screen is on top of the paper pulp..
18. Place the board on top of the newspaper and press to squeeze excess water out of the paper pulp. The newspaper section will absorb the water.
19. Open the newspaper and carefully lift the screen . The pulp will stay on the newspaper section.
20. Leave the newspaper open and let the pulp dry for at least 24 hours.
21. The next day, check to make sure the pulp is dry.
22. If the pulp isn't dry, leave it until it is.
23. If it is dry, it is paper again. Carefully peel it off the newspaper.
24. Now you can use it to write on!

Questions to Answer

• Was it easy to recycle paper?
• How could you use the paper you made?
• Do you think you could do this again for a special occasion?
• What products in the store say they are made from recycled cardboard or paper?
• What products made of recycled paper can you find that you could use at school?
• Does your family use recycled paper products?
• How many trees are used for every person in the United States every year? (The answer is in this web site somewhere!)
• How many things can you do that will save trees?