Have you ever heard of gilding? This is the process of applying a thin gold coating to an object, to make it look like it is made of pure gold. The gold comes in very thin sheets called gold leaf; they are so thin that you'd have to stack about a million of them to make a pile one inch high! Most materials can't be made so thin. Imagine trying to pound a solid piece of wood or plastic that thin; it would break way before it got to 1/1,000,000 of an inch! The ability of metals, and gold in particular, to be made into extremely thin sheets is referred to as malleability (MAL-ee-ah-bill-i-tee). With an adult's help, you can gild something using a gold leafing kit you can find at a crafts store for about $10. Maybe a picture frame or a piece of jewelry? What are your ideas?
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