Elgin Museum offers egg-coloring tips

Dozens of kids walked out of the Elgin Public Museum on Saturday with colorful eggs just in time for Easter.

And to the delight of many parents, the techniques used by museum staff to help the kids decorate their eggs were all natural and free of chemicals.

A slightly sour aroma permeated the museum as kids picked out their eggs and handed them to staff members, who carefully dipped the eggs into vats filled with boiling, colorful liquids.

Each vat contained water plus either vinegar or alum, a spice normally used for pickling, museum educator Marge Fox said. Vinegar and alum help dissolve the eggs’ waxy coating and bind the color to the surface.

The coloring came from the addition of natural elements brought to a boil along with the mixture. On Saturday, staff used cherries, raspberries, blueberries, red cabbage, coffee beans and yellow and red onions to color the eggs.

These dyeing techniques were used centuries ago by pilgrims and Native Americans, museum staff members explained.

“It seems like right now parents are very concerned about not having too many chemicals around,” said Sara Russell, education coordinator for the museum. “I think they appreciate this opportunity to create something safely and take it home.”

“I think this is a great program,” said Stacy Dai of Elgin while watching her 7-year-old daughter Claire and her friends Grace and Holly Thompson decorate their dyed eggs with markers and crayons. “You can always learn so much from programs here.”

Jennifer Stoner of West Dundee said the eggs that her daughter Amelia, 6, was decorating were going to be part of a fun egg hunt at home Easter morning.

And later, they would be used to make deviled eggs, a favorite treat for Amelia’s father, she said.