Hands-on History

Last week we studied the Phoenicians in History. We learned that they were traders and that they were famous for making glass and for glass blowing. They were also known for making purple dye out of snails. Their process was to boil snails for 10 days (this process stunk so bad that Phoenician cities were famous for their stench!). It took so many snails to make enough dye that it cost a whole year's pay to buy a purple cloak. No wonder purple was considered "the color of kings". We made purple dye but opted not to use snails! We used blueberries and boiled them for an hour. After the liquid cooled, we dipped noodles into it and let them sit for a few minutes. After they dried, we had purple noodles! The kids made jewelry out of their dyed noodles.