mad science party: the decorations

For this party, I wanted the main focus to be on the experiments, so I kept the decor pretty simple.

I believe that any good party begins with the invitations. 

I started by downloading this caution logo.  I had it printed on glossy card stock at a local copy shop.  It was used on the back of the invitation to hold it together.

The inside of the invite looked as follows.  

I think Tate's favorite part was that I called him Dr. Tate. 

In his mind he is already a scientist.

Guests were welcomed at the door with a sign welcoming them to the Laboratory.

Once inside, this was the focal wall.

For this wall, I followed the tutorial for the giant fringe number here.  It was simple and quick, the perfect solution for a large wall at a party. The only downside was that kids thought it was a pinata and broke it during the party. 

The other decorations were from a local party store, which we used in a couple other places as well.

 

Also in the main party room are my mantle shelves, which I decorated for the party.  They were complete with lots of science-y things, like a microscope - property of the birthday boy himself, some of mom and dad's old college textbooks (Genetics, Psychology and Differential Equations), beaker-like jars, molecules and pictures of the birthday boy during his first 6 years.

The three jars contained things that just looked fun and science-y to me.  There was a snake 'preserved' in colored water, frangrance beads in water and cotton balls with colored water.  The jars themselves came from a local thrift store.  Side note, if I am ever in need of glass jars for anything I start with a thrift store.  These were $0.25 a piece and perfect for this project. 

And, in true mommy-nerd fashion, I made Adenosine Triphosphate,

and a benzene ring out of an Organic Chemistry set.  Tate was fascinated with it and contributed two eyeballs and a germ. 

Lastly, the guests left the party with a simple goody bag.

It contained slime, a glow-in-the-dark bracelet and candy.  

Next up, we'll get to the good stuff - the experiments!