ScienceFest Workshop: Cyanotype Photograms: Light, Chemistry, Water, Image

The Natural History Museum of Utah is hosting a cyanotype photogram workshop on Saturday, November 7, from 2:30 PM to 3:30 PM. It's part of ScienceFest, and the whole thing is open to all ages, so it works as a family afternoon as much as a solo project.

If you've never heard of a cyanotype, it's a historic photographic process that produces those deep, Prussian blue prints. The workshop is built around photograms, which are images made without a camera. You start with light-sensitive fabric and arrange things on top of it—plants, natural objects, and whatever found materials you bring along. When the fabric is exposed to sunlight, the areas covered by your objects stay white while the rest turns blue, leaving you with a one-of-a-kind image of whatever you laid down. It's a simple way to see how light and shadow actually work.

There's a science side to it, too. While you're making your print, you'll go over the basics of the process and the chemistry behind it—how light triggers a chemical reaction in the fabric to create that signature blue. It's as much about the science of light and chemistry as it is about the art of the image, and the workshop is designed to cover both.

One ticket covers one set of supplies, so you'll have everything you need to make your own piece. If you're bringing kids 10 and under, they'll need an adult chaperone with a museum admission ticket, though the chaperone doesn't need a workshop ticket of their own. The session runs from 2:30 PM to 3:30 PM on Saturday, November 7, and tickets are $45.00.