Cotton bud skeleton
White cotton buds glued on black paper become the bones of a dancing skeleton: craft time and a lesson on how the body is built.
Age : age 4+
Materials
- A sheet of black paper
- About twenty cotton buds : Some cut in half by the grown-up for small bones.
- White liquid glue
- White paper : For the skull, or white paint.
- Black marker
Steps
Put it together
- Cut an oval skull from white paper, draw the eye sockets and nose, and glue it at the top of the sheet.
- Spine: line up 3 or 4 cotton buds end to end below the skull.
- Ribs: on each side of the spine, glue 3 half cotton buds at a slight angle.
- Arms: for each arm, one cotton bud for the upper arm and one for the forearm, bent at the elbow.
- Legs: same again, one bud for the thigh and one for the lower leg.
- Hands and feet: little pieces fanned out.
- Give it a pose: dancing, running, waving.
Did you know? An adult has 206 bones, but a baby has even more, about 300: some fuse together as we grow. The longest bone in the body is the thigh bone, the femur.
Make a whole family of skeletons in different sizes, or a cat skeleton with a long tail.
If it goes wrong
- Cotton buds slide : Let the glue set for a minute before placing.
- Skeleton too big for the sheet : Cut the lower arm and leg bones.
Safety
- Cut cotton buds have hard ends: watch the eyes, and keep them out of little ones' mouths.