Can you make a paper horse walk?

Can you make a paper horse walk?

This is a challenging activity for older children. Through trial and error, a child can make a paper horse walk down an incline!

Generations of scientist and inventors have struggled to reach their goals, by sticking to a project and trying again and again to succeed. By making minor adjustments a child will learn how to make this fun project work. This is a craft that will make you “think”!

Materials:

          Construction paper, or paper heavier than copy paper.

          Scissors

Walking horse.jpg

Procedure:

          Use the template provided to draw out your plan for your horse. Cut along the dotted lines and fold along the solid lines. Curl the tail up so it is out of the way of the legs.

          Fold the neck of the horse up and form a head at the end, as seen in the picture.

          Cut the bottom for the legs at a very slight angle. You may need to round them a little, so it rocks like a rocking chair. The highest point being at the outside edge.

          Make an incline using a stack of books and a flat surface, or whatever is available to you at home.

          Position your horse at the top of the incline and give it a slight nudge to get it started. Blowing on it softly, also helps.

walking horse and incline.jpg

 Adjustments:

          If your ramp is too slick and the horse slides down, give him more traction with a different surface. Perhaps a piece of construction paper or foam board would help.

          Continue to make slight adjustments on your horse and incline. This does work, and part of the fun is in the fine tuning.

What did you learn:

          Did you have to adjust your incline?

          Did you have to raise your horses head?

          Did you have to round his feet more?

          What surface did you use?

This is a good exercise for measurements and following a plan.  For younger children, we do have a Walking Horse downloadable template that is measured out and ready to cut.