This amazing “build-it-big” project is amazing to children. They can create something large and quickly and in the process they learn something about engineering and balance and structural strength.

Who wants to build a sculpture that can be entered, moves, is a house, is a polyhedron, reaches the ceiling and fills a room?

Makes an excellent group project! This project can be done outside!


Materials:

Newspaper
Masking tape
½” wooden dowel (or pencil or other stick)


Make PAPER ROLLS :

• Place a sheet of newspaper on the floor
• Beginning at a corner, roll the paper around the down by rolling diagonally across the paper
• Remove the dowel with one hand while holding the roll with the other hand
• Tape the end corner of the paper to the roll
• Make a large batch of rolls before beginning the structure

Make THE SCULPTURE:

• Begin by taping the end of the roll of paper to the floor
• Then tape another roll to the first roll --- and another --- and another --- build a strong structure that won’t fall over
• Keep adding rolls, vending rolls, sticking a roll inside another roll to make it longer, and so on…

VARIATIONS:

• Add other materials to the sculpture such as feathers, yarn, ribbon, rubber bands, and so on.
• Put something under the structure, then paint it
• You could also use tiny pieces of paper and roll them around a drinking straw or pencil to make a smaller version of the sculpture
• You could also make a much larger version by getting very large rolls of paper from newsprint from the local newspaper company – roll around a broomstick
• It might be fun to jump on the sculpture when it is completed and it will crush to the ground


For group projects: