Constructing Dragons

Mudthaw, Barony of Settmour Swamp 03/24/2012
Coordinated by The Honorable Lady Jolie Delarue & Eorsebet

Dragon Making Activity: Ages 2+ with parental/guardian assistance for those under the age of 8

Materials needed: Empty Cardboard boxes from granola bars, crackers, butter, etc.; Spray paint in dragon colors (blue, black, silver, red, etc.); Empty egg cartons; twine; craft glue; pom-poms; googlie eyes; cray paper  in various colors including either red or pink for tongues; white sticker foam paper; poster paper card stock in colors matching the spray paint; ¼ inch wooden dowels; glue dots; sticker gems; paper plates or bowls; foam brushes; scissors; baskets or paper lunch bags; an awl or very sharp pointy scissors for punching holes; pencils; 4x6 index cards

Items to prep ahead of time:

• The cardboard boxes will become the dragon heads. Take a pair of scissors and cut off the open flaps of the box & then in the short sides cut out triangles to make the box look like it has an open mouth (see figure 1).
• At the same time take the egg cartons, discard the tops of the egg cartons and cut apart each egg cup from the bottom of the carton.
• Spray paint the boxes for the dragon heads and the egg cups which will be used for the dragon’s spikes. You’ll want to do as many coats as needed so that you no longer see the original packaging colors.
• While the heads and spikes dry, cut out the body shapes from the poster board, the length should be between 15 - 18 inches and the width should be a maximum of 3 inches (see figure 1 for template).
• Also cut the white sticker foam paper into long thin spiky strips to be used as teeth (see figure 1 for template).
• Then cut the cray paper into 15 inch strips and cut some of the red or pink cray paper into 4 inch strips to make the tongues making sure to cut a triangle shaped notch out of one end.
• Last cut the twine into 10 inch strips, you’ll need 3 per dragon.
• If the googlie eyes and gems do not already have sticker backs, consider putting glue dots on them ahead of time leaving the paper on the side not attached to the eye or gem. It saves a lot of time during the activity.

Set-up:

• You will want one table to put out all the materials. We recommend putting out the materials in wicker baskets or on wooden or bamboo plates.
• Have 2 or 3 other tables (depending on the number of participants) for the participants to work at. On each table have 1 foam brush, 1 index card, 1 pencil and 1 pair of safety scissors per chair at the table and depending on the number of chairs, one paper plate or bowl for every 4 seats for putting glue in for the participants to share.
• We also recommend that each adult assisting with running the activity have an awl or pointy scissor to punch the holes in the body & head for attaching the strings & dowel at the end.

Activity:

• Give each participant a basket or paper lunch bag and have them pick out 1 head, 1 tongue, 1 body, 1 teeth strip, 1 pair of googlie eyes, 3 pieces of twine, and as many pieces of cray paper, pom-pom and jewel decorations they like.
• When they pick their seat, ask them to write their name and age on the index card and put aside.
• Have the participants start with placing the teeth, eyes and tongue on the dragon using glue or glue dots when necessary. Make sure participants know to cut the teeth to the correct length before peeling of the paper to expose the sticky part for attaching to the head.
• Have them pick two of the smallest pom-poms they chose to be the nostrils of the dragon and attach using glue dots.
• Using 3 glue dots, attach the head to the flat end of the dragon body.
• While the participants put the face, head, and body together, pour glue into the plates or bowls for the participants to share and instruct them to paint the top of the dragon’s back with glue using their foam brushes. As quickly as possible before the glue dries, place the strips of cray paper down the back to form the wings and tail. Help any participants who need aid in centering the cray paper on the back.
• Next using either craft glue or glue dots, attach the egg crate spikes to the back and any other decorations (pom-poms or gems) to the back and head of the dragon.
• Once each participant has deemed their dragon complete, have an adult punch three holes in the dragon, two in the body and one in the head. Carefully thread the twine through these holes and tie off a knot for each piece of twine under the dragon’s body. Tie the other ends of the twine to the wooden dowel.
• Once all are complete you can set up a youth A&S table and place the index cards with each child’s name and age with their dragon on the table as the glue dries completely.