The type of pumpkin you use will determine how long your glowing pumpkin will last. If you paint a carved jack-o-lantern, expect the pumpkin to last a few days to a week. An uncarved pumpkin may last a few months. An artificial pumpkin can be used year after year.
Glow in the Dark Pumpkin Instructions
Dr. Helmenstine holds a Ph.D. in biomedical sciences and is a science writer, educator, and consultant. She has taught science courses at the high school, college, and graduate levels.
Updated on September 05, 2018
You can make a glow in the dark pumpkin with a jack-o-lantern face using a common non-toxic chemical. The jack-o-lantern doesn’t require carving or fire, shines in rain or wind, and lasts as long as your pumpkin. Plus, the glowing pumpkin looks really spooky!
Glow in the Dark Pumpkin Materials
It’s very easy to make a glow in the dark pumpkin and it doesn’t require many materials:
- Pumpkin (real, carved, or artificial)
- Glow in the dark paint
- Paintbrush (optional)
- Masking tape to form a jack-o-lantern face (optional)
Make the Pumpkin Glow
Basically, all you need to do is coat a pumpkin with glow in the dark paint. The glow in the dark paint can be obtained from any arts and crafts store. You can use glow in the dark acrylic paint for making models, glowing tempera paint, or glow in the dark fabric paint. I used glowing fabric paint, which dries clear and is waterproof.
- Paint your pumpkin.
- Shine a bright light on the pumpkin, then turn out the lights. If the pumpkin does not glow as brightly as you would like, apply one or more coats of glow in the dark paint.
10 Glow in the Dark Pumpkin DIYs
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Want to create the coolest pumpkin on the block this year? Break out the Tulip Dimensional Paint a.k.a. Puffy Paint and create a glowing pumpkin that will get lots of oohs and ahhs from the neighborhood kids. Here’s just a few fun ideas that will help spark your creativity and get you into the Halloween spirit!
What you need:
The best paint for glowing pumpkins is Tulip Glow-in-the-Dark Dimensional Fabric Paint! You can buy this glow paint in a 6-pack (find it on our site here). This paint comes in 6 diffferent colors and is activated by UV light. Blacklights work great for activating the glow and making it glow super bright.
For this glowing pumpkin creation from Jade Harrington on the iLoveToCreate blog, you simply squeeze out the paint in a clockwise twist of the hand all around the pumpkin. You can play around with the thickness and colors of the paint too!
Mix it up with geometric designs on your pumpkin. Cover your pumpkin in circles, squares, and triangles. The all–over coverage makes this pumpkin a winner! See more here.
Create this simple Boo pumpkin with dots all over your pumpkin! The dot design is so easy to make! You could also do initials or just dots without the words. Another option is to do giant dots! Find this DIY tutorial at Club Chica Circle.
This pumpkin was created layer rings of paint all over! See Jade’s tutorial for it here.
I created this pumpkin project on my blog a couple years ago. I simply used the “natural” glow dimensional paint and went wild with geometric designs allover. Loved how brightly it glows!
We love how these pumpkins from Natty Danielle were created. Very abstract and fun on the two on left and right. And the skull pumpkin is a funky idea for your Day of the Dead festivities!
This pumpkin from Snow Dogs Vlogs will make you go EEEK! when the lights are turned off. Love how the colors twist up the stem too!
This monogram pumpkin is so easy to make! All you need to do is place a sticker down on the pumpkin and dot around it with the glow paint! You can make a personalized one for every family member or spell out a phrase with several pumpkins. See the process in action in this video.
Thiis is the ultimate glow pumpkin by Jaderbomb and so easy to make! You simply squeeze the paint along the indents of the pumpkin in stripes! See the full tutorial here.
Here’s a slight variation of the one above! Jaderbomb squeezed the paint onto the pumpkin and let it drip out like it was melting. Then she took a heat gun and crackled the paint for this super cool effect! Get the tutorial here!
Which of these pumpkins is your fave? No matter which one you choose, expect lots of reactions when someone sees your finished pumpkin!
Experiment Videos
1
If you’re using real pumpkins, wipe them off with a damp cloth to remove any dirt left over from the pumpkin patch. Once cleaned, dry the pumpkin thoroughly. If you are using artificial pumpkins, make sure your pumpkin is free of stickers, packing material and dust.
2
Draw your pumpkin design on the contact paper using a marker. Cut each piece out.
3
Peel the paper backing off each piece and carefully arrange them on your pumpkin. Once your design is complete, take your pumpkin outside and place it on the drop cloth. If you need to do the experiment indoors, make sure that you are in a well-ventilated area and that you place the pumpkin in a cardboard box instead.
4
Prepare your Glow Powder by either putting it into an old salt shaker or by creating your own shaker.
• NOTE: To create your own shaker, place some Glow Powder in a cup and cover the cup with foil. Put a rubber band around the foil to hold it securely on the cup, then poke holes in the top using a thumb tack.
5
Spray sections of the pumpkin with the spray adhesive. For best results, hold the adhesive 4 to 6 inches (10 to 14 centimeters) away from the pumpkin and spray on a heavy coat. Make sure that the surface you’re working on is completely coated in adhesive.
6
Immediately after spraying on the adhesive, sprinkle the Glow Powder onto the pumpkin. You may need to tilt the pumpkin to get it evenly covered.
7
Continue spraying and powdering the pumpkin in sections until the entire pumpkin is completely covered. Be careful not to peel up the edges of your design while you apply the Glow Powder.
• TIP: To make your Glow Powder go further, carefully shake off any excess powder as you go, then collect the excess Glow Powder and pour it back into the shaker to reuse on another part of the pumpkin.
8
Allow the adhesive and Glow Powder to dry completely. After the adhesive is dry, spray the entire pumpkin with a clear sealant to make sure that the Glow Powder stays affixed to the pumpkin.
Let the sealant dry and carefully pull the contact paper off. Your spooky Halloween decoration is ready for display.
9
Want an extra-bright glow on Halloween night? Arrange your glowing pumpkins next to a black light. You can use one of our hand-held black lights or, if your pumpkins are on a front porch or part of an indoor party display, you can install black light bulbs in your lamps.
How Does It Work
• Learning about the science of things that glow requires an understanding of two important terms: fluorescence and phosphorescence. It’s also important to note that not all zinc sulfide glows, but our luminous zinc sulfide does.
• Fluorescence: This type of luminescence occurs when some form of radiation, such as light, causes an object to glow. For example, fluorescent papers and poster boards glow in the daylight. They may seem to glow even brighter under ultraviolet light. In either case, the glow stops as soon as the light is removed. Fluorescent things do not glow in the dark all by themselves. Instead, they require some other form of energy, such as ultraviolet light, to excite them.
• Phosphorescence: Phosphorescence is just like fluorescence, except that the glow continues even after the light is removed. Glow-in-the-dark toys phosphoresce brightly in total darkness after being charged, or excited, by ordinary white or ultraviolet light.
Our Glow Powder works by absorbing surrounding light energy and then releasing that energy when the lights go out. It is a phosphorescent powder.
What exactly does that mean? Imagine that an atom looks something like our solar system. The sun would be the nucleus, consisting of positive charges called protons and neutral charges called neutrons. The planets spinning around the sun would be like the electrons of an atom in an orbit around the nucleus.
When electrons become excited, they move farther away from the nucleus into more distant orbits. In order to become excited, the electrons need energy. In this case, light provides the required energy to cause the electrons to move to a higher energy level. In our solar system analogy, that would be like Earth moving farther from the sun, into the orbit of Mars or Jupiter.
For as long as they receive light to energize them, electrons will remain in their excited states. When the light is removed, the electrons will slowly return to their original, lower orbits, releasing the energy that excited them in the form of light, creating a glowing effect.
Glow Powder is the perfect way to get young ones excited about energy while celebrating Halloween. Just add Glow Powder to almost any Steve Spangler product for an eerie new take on your favorite experiment. Glow Powder is easy and safe to use, so you can get extra creative with your crafts and projects. Glow Powder also works great on large stones and rocks, just like it does with pumpkins.
Glowing Pumpkins at Your Next Halloween Party
Glow-in-the-dark jack-o’-lanterns aren’t just for Halloween night. The glowing pumpkins also make great party decorations. For more tricks and treats, check out our Oozing Pumpkin and other Halloween-themed experiments that demonstrate scientific principles. You’ll find chemistry and food science experiments that will add some wicked awesome fun, like crafting a tasty Witch’s Brew and making Boo Bubbles with dry ice. To make your costumes or Halloween décor extra gross, whip up a batch of fake blood.
Take It Further
Take It Further
Sign up for Steve Spangler Science Club to get all-in-one kits delivered to your future engineer or scientist each month. Get young ones excited about STEM and hands-on learning with our experiments and products that will not only bring out the wonder in your kids, but the oohs and ahhs as well.
