Mad Scientist Lab

BlkAsH · Post by **BlkAsH** » Mon Aug 28, 2006 5:05 pm

Ok so I think my roommate and I have decided to do a Mad Scientist Lab theme for our party this year, although truth be told I'm the one into Halloween and she could probably care less. Anyhow what little input she's said to me is that she doesn't want it to be cute she wants the more horror stylized. So I have several ideas floating around but I was wondering if anyone had any ideas or experience with this theme. As I've posted elsewhere I'm in a small apt/duplex but have a decent sized backyard and also little money to spend on decor. I think I have a good idea for a 5 to 6ft tall "metal tower" for the roof of the house - basically the means for the mad scientist to catch the lightning and animate his creations not to mention something eye catching as folks drive by and into the driveway for the party.

uncletor · Post by **uncletor** » Mon Aug 28, 2006 7:31 pm

you can find dry ice...very very necessary...at the local welding shops..handle with gloves and goggles when you chip it up please, obey all the safety regs..boil water and pour over it to get the smoke...my fave mad scientist stuff is limeaid mixed with soda water....red fruit punch is a close second...
lab coats go for next to nothing at the community college compared to what the stores want for them...mix some Knox gelly (obey directions) and add some green or yellow food coloring, then allow the hot mix to run down the coats, and harden into 3-D guck that looks GROSS...

MHooch · Post by **MHooch** » Tue Aug 29, 2006 11:46 pm

To make liquid bubble in a glass jar or container (you can pick up all sizes at thrift stores for pennies), look for an old aquarium filter (also at the thrift store). Add food coloring to water for different looks to the jars. A couple of teaspoons of milk add a "murky" quality, and make it harder to identify exactly what's in the jar. A jar of cocktail onions doubles well for eyeballs. A cauliflower sculpted just a bit makes a great brain. Lots of wires, tubes, junk motor parts, just put together can look very "scientific". Look for some old fashioned "rabbit ears" (antenna from the top of an old TV) and cover them with aluminum foil. Flickering lights would help, too, and you can buy flicker bulbs pretty cheaply. Just a few ideas...let us know how it turns out!

jekyllandhyde · Post by **jekyllandhyde** » Sun Sep 03, 2006 12:23 am

Ah! One of my favorite themes!

MHooch listed a lot of great ideas. You can also add to that a layer of dust (just blow a handful or two of flour over everything. We made up "apothocary jars" by just adding some vintage looking labels to thrift store jars and filling them with colored water, slime and cheap hair gel (looks really gross).

We also used one of those moving hand props and made a wooden rack for it to hang within. It looks like your scientist is working on an experiement. We dressed up a cheapo plastic blow mold skele with a lab coat, Bettlejuice style wig, Harry Potter glasses and impaled him on an old floor lamp base (to keep him upright).

You can also build a lightbox from a shadow box frame. Open the back and just hot glue the corners of an xray to the glass, staple some xmas lights to the backing (don't staple through the cord). Xrays are a bit hard to find but I might be able to dig up something for you if you want to try it.

I could go on and on but I'll stop now.

MHooch · Post by **MHooch** » Sun Sep 03, 2006 2:15 pm

Yahoo, jekyllandhyde...awesome ideas. Flour does make great "Dust"