Home / Wheelchair Halloween costumes for adults / Mad Scientist's Lab
Mad Scientist's Lab Wheelchair Costume: How to Build It
- Time About 1 hour
- Help needed None
- Best for No helper needed
The mad scientist puts the lab on your lap. A lap tray is the bench, a few sealed jars are the experiments and the hair and coat do the rest. It needs no helper and almost no tools.
What you will need
- A white coat, lab coat or white button-up shirt
- A lap tray with a non-slip mat
- Several sealed plastic jars or bottles (unbreakable)
- Water, green or yellow food coloring, or tonic water
- A UV flashlight or black light, or battery tea lights
- Hairspray, hair gel, or a headband with frizzy fiber
- Safety goggles or craft goggles
- Hook-and-loop strip or elastic to hold the tray
Step by step
- Fill the jars with colored water and seal them. If you want a glow, fill some with tonic water: it glows blue under a UV flashlight. Tape or hot-glue the lids shut.
- Arrange the jars on the tray. Put a non-slip mat under them so they do not slide, and tape the bottoms of the jars to the mat.
- Strap the tray to your armrests or lap with hook-and-loop or elastic so it cannot slide. Keep the tray's edges clear of your hand rims, brakes and any controls.
- Put on the white coat. Add a pocket full of pens, a name tag and a few stains made with diluted brown paint.
- Do the hair: comb it up, add gel or hairspray and mess it into a wild shape, or use a frizzy hairband.
- Push the goggles up onto your forehead.
- Add the glow: a UV flashlight pointed at the jars, or battery tea lights placed behind them.
Before you roll
Check. Before going out, check that the tray does not rub on your hand rims or knock a brake lever. Hold the tray still and push yourself forward a few feet to make sure nothing slides. Use only sealed, unbreakable jars.
Mistakes to avoid
- Open jars or glass. Spills and breakage are the main risk. Use sealed plastic.
- A tray that rests on the wheels or controls. Keep it on the armrests.
- A UV light pointed at your face or someone else's eyes. Aim it at the jars.
Make it better
Add dry-ice-free bubbles by using a small aquarium air pump and tubing inside a sealed jar, a wild wig, or a clipboard with a mad formula written on it.
Where to buy
Amazon links; check the product page against the notes before you order.
- Non-slip mat (thin, and grips smooth surfaces)
Safety for every build
- Nothing may block, touch or catch in the wheels, hand rims, brakes or controls. Keep fabric above the wheels and make every attachment quick to remove.
- On a power chair, also keep clear of the joystick, cables, battery and vents.
- Keep tall pieces light and low on the chair so they do not change your balance.
- Check that the finished build fits through a standard door.
- Add reflective tape or a battery LED so you are visible in low light.