Float Your Boat
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Get your child juiced about crafting with recyclables by turning an empty OJ carton into a working paddle wheel-powered sailboat.
What you'll need
- Half-gallon juice carton
- Scissors
- Colored duct tape
- 3 chopsticks
- 2 (1 1/4- by 2 1/2- inch) pieces of thick plastic (we cut ours from a detergent bottle)
- Rubber band
- Plastic bag
How to make it
Use scissors to cut a carton in half lengthwise. Cut the top from one half, then slip that half inside the other, forming a box.
Cover the box with duct tape, attaching a chopstick to each side. For motor paddles, cut a slit halfway through the middle of each plastic piece, then slide them together, creating an X. Assemble the motor by stretching a rubber band between the two chopsticks, centering the paddle on the rubber band, and taping it in place.
To make the sail, cut a 7-inch square from a plastic bag. Line two edges of the square with duct tape, attaching a chopstick mast to one of them, then cut the plastic into a triangle.
Use scissors to poke a hole in the top of the boat and insert the mast. To launch the boat, wind up the paddle, set the boat in the water, and let it go.
