Mole Project (Optional) – Counts as an Extra Major Grade
These are the instructions. You may use any of the Mole Patterns
you choose.
Mole Day is the official holiday of chemistry. In honor of Avogadro's number, 6.02 x 1023,
Mole Day is celebrated each year on October 23rd from 6:02AM to 6:02PM.
Why is a mole important?
Well... atoms are very small, so similar to the concept of the number 12 representing a
dozen of any object, when we count particles in chemistry, we always count by numbers
representing the quantity expressed as a mole.
Therefore, the quantity 6.02 x 1023 represents the number of particles, such as atoms or
molecules, found in one mole of any substance.
In honor of Mole Day, you will be given the opportunity to complete a Mole Day project.
Because this is an
optional project, it will not be accepted late for any reason. If you are
The Project will be due on the day of your midterm test.
absent on the due date, have someone drop it off at school.
You will be required to create a mole using one of the mole patterns. Your mole should
be between 4 inches and 8 inches in length (about the size of a Beanie Baby). Give your
mole a creative name, for example, Coca-mola, Eskimole, a mole-in-one (golf-themed),
Nemole (as in finding Nemo), a donut mole. Or you could base your mole on a
superhero, a Disney character, a professional athlete, a politician or celebrity, a character
from a book or movie, or any other creative idea you can come up with. Be sure to
include a tag. Sew it on or safety pin the tag to your mole. Include the name of your
mole, your name, and your class period on the tag. And finally, write a creative story
about your mole and turn it in with the mole.
Projects will not be returned to the
student after grading.
Step-by-step instructions for making a mole.
(May vary depending on the pattern you choose to use.)
Materials:
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fabric (for body, nose, and feet – see pattern)
needle & thread (double thread the needle)
fiber fill, which is a pillow-like stuffing
eyes (buttons, plastic eyes, etc) Do not draw them!
other theme materials(remember that your mole must be themed); the more extravagant, the
better! BE CREATIVE!
1. Cut out the pattern at the end of these directions. You can scale the pattern to make a mole about
the size of a beanie baby or small stuffed animal (between 4 and 8 inches in length).
2. Pin the pattern to the material you are going to make your mole out of (You can use any material).
The material can be store-bought or an old t-shirt, apron, or towel you found at the house (that your
mom said was okay to use). One lesson I learned was that on the sides of the mole’s body, cut out one
piece with the print side of the pattern up and the other side with the print side down. If you cut both
of them with the print side up, the two sides of the mole will have a different texture; I am glad I bought
extra fabric!
3. Cut out the pieces to make the mole.
4. Pin together the two sides of the mole body with the pretty side of the fabric on the inside. I started
sewing at the nose and ended up at the tail.
5. After sewing the back together, pin in the bottom piece to the belly side of the mole. Make sure to
put the pretty side of the fabric on the inside and match up the legs, tail, and nose.
6. Starting at the tail, sew one side of the bottom to the body piece leaving about an inch at the nose
open. This space is so that I would have room to turn the fabric right side out when I was finished.
Repeat the same process on the other side.
7. Turn the mole right side out by pulling the body through the mouth. Make sure that you push out the
front arms.
8. Now fill the mole with fiber fill (pillow-like stuffing).
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Tips for using fiber fill: to avoid lumpy bits in your mole, don’t wad up the filling before stuffing
the mole. Just pull it out like cotton-candy and stuff it into the body. Start at the tail and work
your way forward making sure to fill in the front arms with stuffing.
9. Sew up the mouth pieces, attach the nose and feet pieces, and add plastic eyes or create eyes with
buttons. Do not draw the eyes, nose or feet with pen, pencil or Sharpie. The feet and nose must be
sewn or glued on. The eyes may sewn, glued or painted if done neatly.
10. I know my mole looks very plain. Be creative with your mole. Give it a creative theme and name.
Make it colorful and eye-catching. You want your mole to “stand out” from the rest!
11. Make a tag for your mole. Tag must be securely attached to the mole, sew it on, or use a safety pin.
The tag must include: name of the mole, your name, class period
12. Create a story about your mole. You will present your story to the class or to me (you choose). Your
paper should be at least a page and a half long and typed.