By Bailey Coyle, FOX23.com News Staff
BROKEN ARROW, Okla. — For fifth grader Ethan, the best part of art class is being able to create a color all his own.
“I really like how it can just make any color no matter what numbers you put in,” Ethan said. “You can fix your numbers if you messed up.”
Ethan is one of the students at Lynn Wood Elementary using Color Frog, a paint-mixing machine created by local inventor Dirk DeRose.
The machine is designed specifically with elementary students in mind, giving them a hands-on way to learn about color theory.
Students use a touchscreen to choose how much of each color they want. The machine uses three primary colors, along with white and black, and students enter numbers that add up to 40. It then dispenses the paint into a small cup, where students mix it to create their own custom color.
Lynn Wood Elementary art teacher Kimberly Kicker says the technology helps take a concept students might normally learn through a lesson or worksheet and turn it into something they can see and experience.
“They’re going to see what that color mixing that we talk about actually looks like in person,” Kicker said.
The machine was fully funded by the school’s PTA.
Kicker says Color Frog isn’t just a teaching tool — it can also help the school save money by reducing wasted paint.
Instead of pouring paint onto a palette where leftover paint can end up being washed down the sink, students mix their paint in individual cups. Any leftover paint can be capped and saved for another class.
“This is never going to go to waste,” Kicker said. “We can use that paint until it’s completely consumed.”
For students, though, the biggest payoff may simply be the chance to experiment.
“This is my first color. I’m really proud of it,” Ethan said.
And for Kicker, seeing students excited to put what they’ve learned into practice is what makes the technology worthwhile.
“I love seeing the kids’ excitement and taking what they’ve learned in class and transitioning that into a hands-on way to manipulate that knowledge into something really cool,” she said.
