Yes, the reusability of ComposiMold makes classroom work very nice. The students can experiment without wasting materials! They can learn sculpture techniques and create their own molds. 

Assuming you’re not making chocolate shapes (food contact safe), I’d recommend getting the ComposiMold –USED because it’s lower cost, comes as cubes (muffin tin shaped) so you can use what you want just by melting a few more cubes, and works well. So how much per student really depends on what you’re thinking as the art teacher…you can have the students use ComposiMold for a mold one week and then re-melt it for another class the next week so you could use a lot less. And the size limitations of the students’ projects…As a good way to start, I’d suggest the 25 pounds ComposiMold-USED for a classroom of 20 or so students, but that might be too much.. this is a guestimate.

Other items to consider are one or two Bubble Busters (a class of 20 would be fine with one 4 oz Bubble Buster), and if you’re thinking about using plaster for your casting material, I recommend a bit of the plaster additive to add into the plaster…. Talcum powder (the real stuff) is the best mold release for plaster, but vegetable oil will also work….wipe it in and wipe if off.

If you have a whole class making molds at once, using a double boiler or day cooker on as low as possible works well (and turn off if you see the ComposiMold bubbling). That way you can have the melted ComposiMold ready to go, and the students can ladle out what they want. A refrigerator helps cool the molds faster, but isn’t necessary…

You may want to have the students sculpt a shape. Plasticine is great for this as the Plasticine can be re-formed as well. However, be careful to ensure that the ComposiMold is not too hot for the Plasticine. Plasticine cools at around 150- 160 F, so make sure your ComposiMold is cooler than this. It should be a thick honey when you pour your molds.

And START simple and build up to more complex molds. Just like all of us, the students will want to make something complicated, thin walled, with lots of undercuts. They can, but have them do that after they have had success with a simple mold.

You can also share with them a copy of our mold making book (free on our website on the LEARN page )if any are interested in learning more.

For even easier molds, the Impressive Putty is also nice…just heat that and press it over. You can’t do as complex molds, but you don’t need any mold box. That’s also a possibility depending on what you’re thinking as the art teacher.