Mad Scientist Chalkboards

$5 - $10 (based on 2020 prices)

Makes two boards 

 

Some props are built to fade into the background. Although they may not take center stage, they play a vital role in establishing and maintaining the haunt’s theme. These chalkboards are one of those items. Not nearly as grand as the towers of flashing equipment that dominated the laboratory, they were a necessary element in selling the fantasy to the guests.

• One 20” x 30” foam board
• One 10 oz. can of interior/exterior, fast-drying spray paint in flat black*
• One 10 oz. can of interior/exterior, fast-drying spray paint in flat brown*
• One 10 oz. can of interior/exterior, fast-drying spray paint in metallic silver*
• One 2 oz. bottle of chalkboard paint*
• One 4 oz. bottle of all-purpose tacky glue*
• One 2 oz. bottle of acrylic paint in flat white*
• Two feet of steel wire

1. Trim one-inch strips from all four sides of the board to form a border and, on a newspaper-lined surface in a well-ventilated area, give each one an even coat of silver spray paint. Although I used a metallic color to match other props in the haunt, you can use an alternate hue to correspond with your haunt’s color scheme.

2. To add a uniform level of age and distress, dust the borders with a light coat of black and brown spray paint. You can also apply a flecking of black paint and smears of brown to enhance the weathered appearance.

3. Give the board two even coats of chalkboard paint, allowing each coat to fully dry between applications. If you do not plan to use chalk to write on the boards, a coat or two of black spray paint will also work.

4. Glue the borders to the board. To assist in this process, consider marking their backs during step one to note which side the strips belong to.

5. Use chalk to fill the board with a bevy of diagrams, equations, formulas, and notes. What you write depends on the theme of your haunt: you can write out chemical bonds and measurements for a more scientific look or draw charts of the human body and lists of anatomical terms for a more medical appearance. If you want more permanency, use white paint to create these entries.

6. To hang the boards on the wall, create a hanging loop with steel wire, cutting it into a twelve-inch section, folding it in half, twisting both strands together, and gluing it to the back of the board.

7. The prop can be left fairly plain or embellished even further with sticky notes or ripped-out pages of books taped to it. You can also glue an insect or two crawling across its surface or smear it with bloody handprints. 

*You will not use the entire bottle’s content for this project.