Acrylic Casting Tutorial

3/15/2019

byAndrea Kautz and Dan Kozel, Powdermill Nature Reserve

Dan Kozel of Powdermill Nature Reserve has worked over many months to perfect a procedure to cast macroinvertebrates in acrylic blocks for use in the classroom. These blocks are a great way to transport and distribute normally very fragile aquatic insect specimens without destroying them. It also helps learners see the real-life scale of these insects. They can be put under microscopes to be viewed from all angles and are a great tool to use in training exercises.

Dan was able, through lots of experimentation, to figure out a method for casting these delicate insects in acrylic while avoiding the common issues like bubbles and shriveling. You can download his instructions (PDF) for creating them here:

lucite_protocol.pdf
File Size:	881 kb
File Type:	pdf

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Now we have several complete training sets of macros that can be used with a wide variety of audiences in conjunction with macroinvertebrates.org. A big thanks to Dan for all of his hard work!

Ingrid

5/31/2019 21:05:35

Will there be sets for purchase in the future?

[email protected]

5/31/2019 22:02:27

We’re not currently planning to sell these, but we left the DIY instructions how to make a set. Thanks for your interest.
Marti

Gabe Knowles

6/5/2019 09:44:29

I was reading your tutorial on how to make your own acrylic castings, but I wonder where do you get an incubator from? I am interested in making insect specimens for elementary students to use when they conduct macroinvertebrate collections to assess local water quality of the watershed.

Andrea

6/5/2019 10:52:19

Hi Gabe,

Incubators can be purchased through a laboratory supply company. However, it is not a necessary item to have in order to make the blocks. It simply accelerates the drying process. Without the incubator, you would just want to let the blocks cure for a longer period of time until they are no longer tacky (perhaps up to a couple of weeks). Thanks for the question!

Andrea

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Acrylic Casting Tutorial

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