Berkeley Museum Seeking Record for World's Largest Play Dough Ball

Berkeley’s Habitot Children’s Museum has applied to the Guinness Book of World Records for the title of the world’s largest play dough ball. The museum debuted its purple, 50-pound, roughly one and half foot diameter ball at Sunday Streets in Berkeley on Oct. 12. Since then, the ball has changed a bit, as additional globs have been added to the museum-made compound.

“It’s going to be multi-colored,” museum marketing and development manager Toni Mikulka, said. “It’s slowly changing color.” Mikulka asked why anyone would care about a “big ole” ball of play dough, but she said it’s so much more than play dough.

“It’s children’s lives,” she said, adding that the effects of playing last until the day a person dies. “The rewards to young children are huge.”

Roughly 40 children and 25 parents turned the “big squishy medium” into sculptures and mountains at Sunday Streets, a yearly event in Berkeley. Play dough is different than Play-Doh, a commercial modeling compound created in 1956. Play-Doh is a Hasbro, Inc., product, but they share similar ingredients.

Mikulka said the play dough at Habitot is made of salt, flour, oil and cream of tartar. The recipe for Play-Doh is proprietary, but Hasbro’s website says Play-Doh contains primarily water, salt and flour. Habitot won’t know for at least three to four weeks whether it wins the title, and it could be up to two months before it learns of the award. Before the title can be given, Guinness will have to create a new category, which Habitot is asking for.

“There’s no specific record for play dough,” Mikulka said. While admitting that the pursuit of the record is to promote the museum, the museum is about promoting the “power of play.”

Visitors can see the ball in the museum’s annex. A staff person will provide an escort, and visitors can “add their glob,” Mikulka said. She is encouraging parents to play with their children.

“Here’s a play dough ball,” she said. “Let’s get messy.”

By Bay City News

Photo, widget courtesy Berkeley’s Habitot Children’s Museum Facebook page