Materials

• Clay (both a white color and at least one other color)
  • The Museum uses Model Magic, but you can also make your own clay
• To make homemade clay mix a 2:1 ratio of corn starch & hair conditioner
  • In a bowl, mix the corn starch and conditioner until it forms a ball. Make a smaller batch, or divide the first batch, and add food coloring. Store each ball of clay in a plastic bag or air tight container until you are ready to use.

Instructions

• Yayoi Kusama is a Japanese contemporary artist who is sometimes referred to as the ‘princess of polka dots.’ Set aside some time to research a little bit about her and her artwork.
• Collect your clay or make your own using the recipe above.
• Using the white colored clay, sculpt your base shape. We made pumpkins inspired by Kusama’s work but you can create any shape you want.
• Time for polka dots! Using the clay you added food coloring to, pinch off small pieces to roll and squish into round dots. Place the dots all over your sculpture to create the polka-dot effect Kusama is famous for.
• Let dry and repeat! Make as many of these sculptures as you want.

 

 

With some cardboard and creativity, bring your dream tree house to life.

Materials

• Thin cardboard (from a cereal or cracker box)
• Foam, thicker cardboard, wood (a material sturdy to use for the base)
• Paper towel roll
• Popsicle and craft sticks
• Pipe cleaner, string, or ribbon
• Paint, brushes, water bucket
• Markers (optional)
• Tissue paper (optional)
• Scissors
• Pencils and eraser
• Ruler
• Hot glue

Instructions

• Select the material for the base you want to use. Keep in mind it will help support your tree house and can always be decorated to look like grass.
• Paint the cardboard tube to look like tree bark. We use Popsicle sticks to create the branches, which you can paint or wrap in brown paper to help add texture.
• While the paint is drying, measure and cut four squares out of thin cardboard. We recommend making them about 4X4 inches, but you can certainly go smaller or bigger. Decorate your tree house using markers or paint, and cut out a door or windows if you’d like. Carefully hot glue the four walls together to begin to make the house shape.
• Next, use the cardboard to create a roof, it can be triangular, flat, or slightly tilted as seen in the example. The choice is up to you!
• With your Popsicle or craft sticks, build a platform for your house. If you don’t have these materials at home, you can use another piece of cardboard and decorate the visible surface to look different. Tip: Wouldn’t you want your tree house balcony to have a railing around the edge to keep you safe?
• Hot glue your tree house to the base so it will balance on your ‘tree trunk’ aka the cardboard tube. Once glued to one end, hot glue the other end to your base.
• If you are adding branches, make small cuts in the tube where the branches can be hot glued into. If you have tissue paper, you can use it to add leaves or flowers to branches and trunk.
• The final step is to take pipe cleaner, string, or ribbon to create your rope ladder leading from the ground up to the tree house landing.
• Give everything time to dry to ensure it is sturdy.

Channel your inner architect and create your favorite city’s skyline or create your own. Use a dark color paint to create a night time skyline, or paint each building a different color to create a rainbow city. Do not be afraid to stack, cut, and get creative!

Materials

• Cardboard rolls
• Scissors
• Paint
• Pallet
• Paint brushes
• Water cup
• Paper towel
• Sharpie or marker
• Elmer’s glue, hot glue

Instructions

• Collect all the cardboard rolls you want to use for your project. We recommend at least three, but you can always add to your city as you collect more tubes.
• Using your scissors, cut your tubes to create a variety of different heights.
• Paint your tubes and leave them to dry standing up on newspaper. When they are dry, you can add doors and windows.
• Once dry, play around with the order of your buildings prior to gluing them together. Pay attention to which colors, heights, and style of building are being placed next to each other.
• If using regular glue, be sure to allow the glue enough time to dry before handling your creation. If you are using hot glue (with adult supervision), your skyline will dry more quickly.