SOUP CAN
MONSTERS
Making Time: ~ 1hr
Age Group: 12 - 70
Project Designer: Reid Henkel
“...They roared their terrible roars, and gnashed their terrible teeth, and rolled their terrible eyes, and showed their terrible claws”
-- Where the Wild Things Are
We’re going to be making our own monster characters using only easy-to-find, recycled materials!
Project
Overview
Before preparing your space . . .
WE NEED TO SAY A FEW THINGS ON SAFETY
Poking holes in the can may create sharp edges that can cut your hands or fingers.
To avoid this, you should:
�1) always make holes from the outside to the inside of the can, that way the sharp edges will be on the inside;
2) keep your hands and fingers away from the sharp edges on the inside of the can.
3) If you do have a sharp edge, flatten it with the back of a metal spoon, and cover it, or just get another old can and try again.
Now that you have an ADULT HELPER . . .
LET’S PREPARE OUR SPACE!
Prepare
Your Workspace:
Set up your work space. Clear a surface on a table top where you can work. Make sure you have some scrap material covering your surface to keep it clean (magazines, newspaper, cardboard, plastic trash bag...) Make sure to ask other people who are using the space if it’s OK for you to set up there!
Gather Supplies:
Gather Supplies:
Plan Ahead:
You will be building a soup can monster by poking holes through a can, and using those holes to hold objects that will be the body parts of your monster.
Before you dive in, take a look at the materials you have gathered. Based on what you have, draw a sketch of the monster you want to build.
It’s good to have a plan, when building monsters from a can.
NOW, LET’S START BUILDING!
Step 1:
Mark your holes
Take a look at your sketch.
Using a sharpie, mark where you want to poke your holes.
Step 2:
Making Holes in the can
Hold the can firmly on the table with your mark facing up. Push straight down with the nail scissors or other poking tool -- applying constant, fairly strong pressure on your mark to bore a hole in the can. You may need to twist your tool back and forth as you push. Sometimes it feels like nothing is happening and then all of a sudden the scissors will pop through the metal.
Step 2:
Widening a hole
Sometimes you’ll need a wider hole than the nail scissors are able to make. You can use a screwdriver or pen to widen it. Hold the can firmly on the table and push straight down through your hole -- twisting the pen as necessary.
Remember to be mindful of the sharp edges once the hole is finished. If anything sharp is on the outside of the can, you can flatten it with the back of a spoon.
Step 3:
Adding limbs and appendages
Test fit the chopsticks, plastic utensils, or other materials until they fit. For one of my monsters I decided to have the chopstick go straight through to the other side. For another, I stuck them down to the bottom of the can so they would stick out on an angle. You get to decide what your monster looks like, so have fun with it!
Step 4:
Adding more detail to the limbs
By wrapping rubber bands around the different materials, I was able to attach the plastic spoons to the chopstick.
I used plastic bottle caps for one of my monster’s eyes. I poked a hole in the bottle cap and then slide the chopstick through. I used a second bottle cap and some tape to finish the eyes.
Step 5:
Decorating and detail
I used different color Sharpies to draw on the soup can and finish the design. You could also use paper and tape to create a mosaic style decoration. There are a lot of ways you can decorate, so experiment and have fun!
You finished making a Soup Can Monster!
What other creatures can you make from recycled materials? Can you use them to make a stop motion video? Or maybe hide them in a cupboard to scare your family!
Great job!
PLEASE SHARE WHAT YOU MADE:
#beamanywhere