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Small cardboard boxes stacked on top of each other. Each one is filles with a crafted cardboard scene with buildings, trees, mountains and cotton wool clouds.
Small cardboard boxes stacked on top of each other. Each one is filles with a crafted cardboard scene with buildings, trees, mountains and cotton wool clouds.

Doorstep Explorers

Mini Adventure Boxes

This activity focuses on imagination, creativity and the use of multi-sensory materials. Crafters can create whatever they would like to in their own adventure boxes using any materials available.

Use old maps to cover the box and create a background for the scene. Cut pictures from magazines or old books to show the sea, mountains, fields or deserts. Create a peg doll wrapped in fabric straps, small toys like cars and dinosaurs to help tell the story. Sticks, leaves and stones can help build out the landscape. Cotton wool for clouds, felt, wool, and other material scraps to create water, grass and sand – anything to bring the vision to life!

Use whatever you have or can collect in advance. Don’t worry if you don’t have specifics – a wide choice of materials to stimulate imagination is key. Separate the materials into bowls or trays so your crafters can select what they want to use a little at a time.

Materials

  • Cardboard box – any box will do, cereal box, parcel box, shoe box etc.
  • Selection of paper to collage onto the box – maps, old A-Z, magazines, old books, coloured/printed paper, leaflets
  • Pegs
  • Selection of fabric scraps
  • Elastic bands
  • Recycled materials – toilet rolls, small boxes, cardboard scraps, plastic lids, egg boxes
  • Small toys
  • Cotton wool
  • Craft materials – pipe cleaners, sequins, buttons, pom poms, lolly sticks, plasticine, beads, wool
  • Outside materials – sticks, leaves, stones, shells
  • Glue sticks
  • Cellotape
  • Scissors
  • Pens, pencils, crayons

Instructions

Introduce this project a few days before you plan to do it. Ask them to think about what their ideal adventure or perfect day would be. Give some examples – would they climb a mountain, swim in the sea, explore a jungle, visit a friend or relative, have a picnic?

 

1. Prepare the box:

Make sure the box has four sides and a back panel. This might mean cutting out the front panel of your box and taping up the sides or cutting off the top flaps of a delivery box. Keep any card you cut off as you might be able to use it later.

Ask your crafters to select papers they want to use to make the background of their adventure box. The box will be displayed on its side like a frame so the background will be the large, flat, back panel.

Papers can be cut or torn, and then collaged in one piece or several images and colours together, and then stuck down with a glue stick. They could even draw the background is they like.

Once the background is don, ask them to choose materials or papers to use on the ‘floor’ of the box. This could be using more papers, fabrics, moss or anything else they care to use.

2. Making a peg doll version of themselves and anyone else they want for their adventure

Give your crafters a peg, a selection of fabric scraps, some elastic bands or pipe cleaners, pens, wool and other trimmings (or give them a small container and let them choose a selection themselves).

Ask them to draw a face on the peg, and then make clothes by either gluing fabric scraps on or wrapping them around the peg and using an elastic band or pipe cleaner twisted round to hold in place. They can add any other decoration to the peg doll such as hair, capes, accessories etc.

3. Making and adding items to the box

Ask crafters to think about what might go into the box scene to tell the story of their adventure. Do they need trees, animals, buildings or mountains?

Trees can be made by either using items found outside such as large leaves, or twigs or they can be made by cutting out a green coloured, collaged or painted cardboard tree top and slotting it into a toilet roll tube (the trunk) with two slits cut either side at the top. Or it can be stuck onto a stick which is then stuck into plasticine, so it stands up. The centre spikes inside an egg box also work well as a tree when stuck on a stick.

4. Telling the story of their box

Once their box is complete, ask them to tell you or their friends about their adventure box.

  • What’s the story behind it?
  • What adventure are they having?
  • Where is it set?
  • What are they doing?
  • What will happen next?