What is tin?

Tin is a shiny, soft metal that you can bend and shape easily.

Imagine you have a crumpled ball of aluminum foil, that’s kind of like tin. If you press it flat or fold it into shapes, it doesn’t break; it just moves along with you. Tin is used to make things like cans for food, because it's strong enough to hold stuff inside but still easy to work with.

Tin is lightweight, so if you pick it up, it doesn’t feel heavy like a rock or a big block of wood. It has a silvery color, like the outside of a spoon before it gets rusty. If you leave it out in the air for a while, especially when it's wet, it can get dull and change colors, this is called rusting.

Tin comes from minerals deep underground. People dig it up and melt it into metal so we can use it to make everyday things like cans, cooking pots, and even some parts of your toaster or microwave! It’s all around us, helping keep our food fresh and our meals warm.