Ask Ollie
Shoebox Haunted House Diorama
Here's one to try together!
Build a spooky little room with a ghost that rises, a bat that swings and a glowing flashlight!
Reviewed by our team.
Safety first
- scissors are sharp
- cutting slots and holes in the cardboard box is tricky and needs adult help
- flashlight use should be supervised
What you need
- Paper, 4 sheets
- Kid scissors
- Painter's tape, 1 roll of tape
- Glue stick
- Crayons or markers
- Flashlight, 1
- Cardboard box, 1 shoebox
- Thread, about 12 inches
- Card stock, 2 sheets
How to do it
Grown-up prep: Cutting the slot in the box top and the flashlight hole in the side is tricky, so a grown-up should do those cuts. Keep the flashlight handy and supervise its use.
- Stand the shoebox on its side to make a room.
- Draw spooky wallpaper on the inside walls.
- Cut out a window and stairs, then attach them.
- Make paper furniture and place it in the room.
- Ask a grown-up to cut a slot in the top of the box. A grown-up does thisAsk: What do you think will happen when we slide a paper strip through the slot?
- Draw a ghost and tape it to a long paper strip.
- Slide the strip through the slot and make the ghost rise and fall. Ask: Which way do you pull to make the ghost go up? And which way to make it go down?
- Hang a paper bat from thread inside the box and tilt it.
- Ask a grown-up to cut a hole for the flashlight. A grown-up does this
- Switch off the lights, shine in the flashlight and give your family a tour! Ask: Which spooky part of your house will you show first, and what story goes with it?
Play it again
- Monster mansion: swap ghosts for friendly monsters and make a silly house.
- Shadow show: turn the room lights off and make shadows of the ghost on a wall with the flashlight.
- Mystery room: hide a tiny paper treasure inside and let family guess where it is on the tour.
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