Shoe Box Craft Project for Kids
This is a fun craft project perfect for a school project or a little summer entertainment. We all have tons for left over shoeboxes that end up in the recycle bin. This craft project is a great way to recycle some leftover materials around the house.
This is a fun craft project perfect for a school project or a little summer entertainment. We all have tons for left over shoeboxes that end up in the recycle bin. This craft project is a great way to recycle some leftover materials around the house while having a little fun. The best part of this craft project is that you can keep making more craft project s to go with it - you'll see in a minute!
The first step is to cut your TV screen out of the shoebox. I like to make the screen on the bottom of the box. Measure about two inches in from the left side and about 3-4 inches in from the right. This will leave room for some television knobs like on the old TV's. Younger kids can try to do this part of the project with scissors, but you might need to help them. A sharp exacto knife works best for this, but scissors are ok.
Glue a piece of clear acetate into the box to work as the new screen.
The lid will become the back of the box. It is important for it to be removable so you can put in your film and change it out as you make new TV shows.
Now, cut two holes in the top of the shoebox. They should each be one inch in front the left and right sides. You have them be back about 2 inches from the front of the box with the television screen cut out. These will hold the dowels that move your pictures.
Next, the fun part, decorate the television craft box. Add knobs out of empty spool threads or milk bottle tops. You can make an antenna out of pipe cleaners or wire hangers. Even better why not add some tin foil to the antenna like the good old days.
Once you have your television set complete the real crafting starts. You need to make the TV shows. To do this you need a long roll of paper. Generally about five feet should do. You can always tape paper together end to end if your show is longer than anticipated. Make sure your paper is only as tall as your TV is. You are going to insert your roll of paper in the box and pull it along so that your show shows through the front screen.
Measure how big your television screen is. As you work on your paper you can mark off this much space so you know how big you images need to be.
The kids can draw images good for a school project in history class or even biology. The sky is the limit on the subject. Teachers might even allow them to narrate a class paper with this. Either way this is also fun project for a group of 2-3 kids to work on together. Some can work on the art and some can work on the script.
Once the roll of film has been completed you can mount it into your televisions screen. Tape the end of the roll of paper to a 1-inch wooden dowel. The dowel should be cut to 2 inches longer than the height of your box. You will need two of these. Roll you paper up until you reach the beginning of the show. Tape the start of the paper the second dowel. Insert the TV show and the dowels into the holes cut for them.
Place the box on the back of the TV and start the show. The kids can write a script to narrate with the show as they turn the picture or they can pre record something on a tape recorder.