Popsicle Stick Boat
Popsicle sticks are one of the most basic crafting supplies, whether you are a serious crafter or not. Use this incredibly cheap and easy material to build a Popsicle Stick Boat. Your kids can race these popsicle stick boats in the pool or a nearby stream. Take this Popsicle stick craft out on the water and see it set sail on the high seas. This video shows step-by-step instructions for how to make a boat out of popsicle sticks that floats and is easy enough for young kids to make. They can name their vessels and pretend they're pirates racing towards treasure. Don't worry if you don't have your sea legs just yet, because there's no sea sickness with this boat.
Estimated CostUnder $10
Time to CompleteIn an evening
MaterialsWood
Primary TechniqueGeneral Crafts
Age GroupToddlers, Preschool & Kindergarten, Elementary School
Materials List
- Popsicle sticks
- Glue
- Scissors
- Duct tape
Popsicle Stick Boat Instructions
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Take your popsicle sticks and make the base frame for your raft. If the kids are doing it, you can have them use some Elmer's glue, or you can use Tacky glue. Put a bead of glue down your popsicle stick and then start building the bottom of the raft by laying in your sticks.
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Once you have your first layer down, repeat this process by putting a bead of glue across the top and bottom of the raft, lay more popsicle sticks directly over your support sticks, and then build another criss-cross layer over the two new sticks. You will then have a nicely-supported popsicle stick raft.
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Put one more brace layer across the top and let it dry. The raft part is now done.
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To create a little sail to put on your raft, take two popsicle sticks and cut one in half. Start taping on the two popsicle sticks to create the sail. Lay the second half of the popsicle stick down to make a triangular shape and tape it on.
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Fill in your sail by wrapping it around to cover it up.
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Trim the end of the sail off so that it's flat, not round.
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Put some glue on both sides of the bottom of the popsicle stick and wedge it in the middle crack. Help hold it up and put some glue onto another popsicle stick and brace the sail in. Then, take a couple pieces of the duct tape and use that to hold the sticks in place while everything dries. You can leave the duct tape if you like how it looks. If not, you can remove it when it's done. You can even put a piece down the side to hold it up. Once it's dry, you can remove the duct tape if you wish.