Fly & Soar! A Summer Recycled Art Project for Kids

This post is brought to you by Brian Yanish, creative director/founder of ScrapKins

It’s summer. You need activities. You want the kids out of the house enjoying “offline” time. How do you compete with iPads and video games during the summer? Make stuff that flies! We’re all about using what we already have lying around the house; it’s free, and you end up consuming less.

I’m the creator of a recycled art program called ScrapKins, which follows the adventures of six recycled monsters! (Fun fact: The ScrapKins characters are based on drawings I did when I was a kid. Thanks Mom!) To kick off our “Fly & Soar” project, I’m going to turn over the blog to Swooper, the chief ScrapKins engineer.

Hi there, builders! I’m Swooper, and I’m going to share all the steps to “Scrap-vent” your own Parachute Escape Pod from a plastic bag, string, and a cardboard tube. This one is great for an adventure in the park or even in your own backyard! When you launch your “pod” it will float. (Hint: It floats even better on a windy day when a gust of wind may make it soar!)

Let’s get started.

Here’s what you’ll need:

Materials:

• 1 toilet paper tube (each tube can make 2 pods!)
• 1 plastic shopping bag
• 1 small piece of thin cardboard (like a cereal box)
• String
• Glue
• Hole punch
• Tape
• Markers/crayons
• Pencil
• Ruler
• Scissors

Instructions:

1) Flatten your tube and cut it in half.
2) Place tube on top of cardboard and draw a circle a little bigger than your tube. Cut out the circle.
3) Glue the circle to the bottom of your tube.
4) Use the hole punch to punch 1 hole on each side of the tube near the top.
5) Measure and cut 2 pieces of string 24” long.
6) Cut off the bottom half of plastic bag.
7) Thread 1 piece of string through 1 hole. Repeat with the other hole and string.
8) Lay down bag. Start with one side first. Tape one string end INSIDE the bag near the edge. Tape the other end across from it. Flip bag over and tape other 2 ends.
9) Tuck the parachute inside tube. Use markers and crayons to design your pod. You can also cut shapes from colored paper and glue them on.

How to Fly Your Pod:

1) Take parachute out of tube and untangle.
2) Loosely grasp tube and bag together.
3) Toss it in the air or drop it from a high place.

You are free to use this project at home. If you’d like to use it in the classroom, please use this FREE downloadable worksheet that credits us. Thanks and Happy Flying!

 

Want to make more of our interactive recycled art projects?
Check out our ScrapKins Build-It Book!