Egg carton boats are a fun summer kids’ craft. Use recycled materials and craft up the perfect activity for indoor or outdoor fun.
Hello, I’m Keri. Over at Backyard Summer Camp, I’m collecting all the best simple kids’ crafts to help you plan summer at home with your family. I love using everyday household materials and your kids will have a blast making and sailing these egg carton boats.
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This craft could be set up as an open-ended activity. Set up the supplies, then ask your kids to collect a few of their favorite action figures and small characters.
Challenge them to build a boat that can carry their figures. After they’ve built a few boats, test them out by floating in the bathtub or a kiddie pool in the backyard.
How To Make an Egg Carton Boat
I used a styrofoam egg carton, but cardboard will work too if it doesn’t get too wet.
What You Need:
Here’s what you’ll need from the store. The exact amounts are in the printable craft card at the bottom of this post.
Craft Tools Needed:
- Adult scissors
- Single hole punch
Supplies Needed:
- Empty egg carton
- Wooden dowel
- Card stock
- Washi tape, optional
Egg Carton Boat Tips
Let kids get creative and create their boats any way they like. If you get stuck, here are a few answers to common questions that will make this craft a bit easier.
Can we paint the boats?
If you use a cardboard egg carton, it can be painted with craft paint. Set up a kid-friendly painting station and let your kids decorate their boats. The paint should completely dry before you put the boats together.
How do we keep the dowels straight?
If your dowel masts are a bit wobbly and don’t want to stand up straight, add a bit of hot glue to the underside.
Do we need to tape the card stock?
The sails will stay in place on the dowel, but if you want to make them more secure, you can add tape to the back of each one. Washi tape also makes a fun decoration.
Can egg carton boats really float on water?
Egg cartons are light, so they should easily float. If you’re using cardboard, it may absorb water and eventually get too wet. Be careful about loading it too full of passengers too.
Egg Carton Boats
Equipment
- Single hole punch
Ingredients
- 1 empty egg carton
- 1 wooden dowel or skewer
- 1-2 piece card stock any color
- washi tape optional
Instructions
- Cut the egg carton.Use scissors to cut the egg carton into 6-cup sections.
- Add the masts.Cut the dowel into 2 smaller pieces with scissors. Carefully poke holes into the egg carton and slide in the dowels.
- Attach the sails.Cut 2 rectangles of card stock and punch 2 holes on opposite sides. Slide the sails onto the dowels through the holes.
- Decorate.Decorate your boat with washi tape, stickers, or anything else you like.
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What’s Next?
If you liked this crayon picture frame craft, then be sure to check out Backyard Summer Camp for even more easy kids’ crafts.
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