Mary Zablocki, of Slippery Rock, laughs when seeing her iron oxide from coal mine drainage tie-dye shirt during a coal mining heritage program Friday, Nov. 13, 2009, at the Slippery Rock Township municipal building. Butler Eagle File Photo

Once iron oxide is neutralized, it can then be used for fun activities, including the creation of tie-dye shirts and pottery glazes.

A group of people learned this on Nov. 13, 2009, when they took part in a psychedelic crash course in tie-dye in Slippery Rock Township, led by Wil Taylor from Jennings Environmental Education Center.

At Jennings, there is an abandoned coal mine that continues to drain iron into the streams there. Ponds and wetlands have been created to help clear up the water with large limestone rocks, which absorb the iron.

Each of the shirts was twisted, rubber banded and then placed into a bin filled with water and iron oxide for 20 minutes, then moved into a rinse. After the shirts were done, participants unwrapped them to reveal various designs and shapes created by the iron oxide.