Pivots and Levers project
age: 5yrs plus
Making monsters is a very popular theme for all ages, and this project is one idea that came out of an exploration on how to make things which move.
The cardboard monster’s mouth snaps open and closed using ‘split pin’ paper fasteners and a very simple pivot and lever type mechanism.
Make your own version by colouring it with felt pens and adding lots of decorative features – eyes, tongue, teeth, hair…
Once you have made one you can use the same jointing method to create other ideas for animated cardboard creatures of your own design. Monsters are easy because they can be any shape – animals or people are a lot more challenging.
Your designs don’t need to include the leverage part of the idea, but this is the bigger challenge to aim for.
Things you need to pay attention to:
- The thickness of the cardboard is important – it should be stiff enough, but still easy to cut (pizza boxes are about the right thickness)
- The strength of your shapes will depend on the direction of the fluted corrugations – they should run down the length of thin narrow pieces, not across the width
- Any narrow jointed pieces should be wide enough for the hole to fit a ‘split pin’ fastener
Special materials/tools you will need:
- corrugated card
- short ‘split pin’ paper fasteners
- stapler and solid glue stick
- decorative collage materials
Clic to view PDF worksheet
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