For most kids - a cardboard box is not just a cardboard box.  the world is full of stories of kids ho toss aside the toy inside a box to turn the box into a rocket, mask, shield,  or habitat for a stuffed animal.   For our final week Cardboard Challenge Camp,  we taught kids some skills on cardboard construction, and set them loose. 

For their final week of Maker Camp, the ReCreate Maker Staff hosted its first-ever Cardboard Camp. In a room filled with cardboard of all sorts of shapes, sizes, and origins, campers had opportunities to let only their creativity guide them as they worked to make everything from fire-breathing dragons to detailed cityscapes. The outcome was SPECTACULAR!  Maker Heather Lee headed up a two day mask / costume session that produced these amazing pieces of art.  On their first day, they constructed OVERSIZED MASKS, learning to draw a meticulous design before moving to the prototyping and then final construction phases. Of course, the final phase was their favorite: decorating!

            Campers also enjoyed what Makers Luke and Ryan saw as the ultimate challenge: a CARDBOARD EGG DROP. Each camper experienced working in a set time limit with restricted materials to make a protective housing for their one egg. What ensued was both delightfully dramatic and entirely exciting! Luke and Ryan dropped each egg from atop our Egg-drop bunker, and the campers cheered regardless of whether the eggs stayed whole or made a giant splat. Afterwards, we overheard them discussing the shapes and designs that worked best.

Maker Donna challenged the kids to a Tallest Structure instant challenge.  Each group got some cardboard, tape and 15 minutes.  

She rounded out the week with a giant assortment of laser cut cardboard shapes, and the kids made robots, animals and buildings.  the kids constructed and painted their projects and made amazing things.  Cardboard Maker Camp was one of our favorite weeks of the summer.