DLTK's Crafts for Kids
Orbiting Object Paper Plate Craft

You can mix and match all the different templates and paint your paper plate to represent any celestial body you like!  I've provided a few suggestions.

Once your craft is complete, you'll have a number of figures that you can orbit around your paper plate.  Because we use a brass brad to attach the templates, the children will be able to spin their characters around their planet (moon or sun).

Also, check out the Hickory Dickory 'Round the Clock version of this craft

Materials:

• paper plate,
• brass fastener ("brass brad")
• sharp pencil or nail
• paint, paintbrush
• Optional:  sponges (for sponge painting).
• scissors,
• hole punch,
• printer and paper
• something to color with (if using the B&W templates).
• Optional:  thin cardboard (old cereal boxes work well) or poster board -- makes the templates that go around the paper plate a bit sturdier

Viewer Suggestion:  instead of a paper plate, trace a plate onto a piece of cardboard or poster board and use that as the center of the project.

Instructions:

• Paint the "bottom" of your paper plate:  your paper plate has the side you'd eat from and the side you'd place on the table -- the bottom is the side you'd place on the table
  • use colors to represent the celestial body you're making:
    • blue and green for earth
    • greys and yellows for the moon,
    • funky colors for an alien planet
    • yellows and oranges for the sun
  •  use sponges to dab on complimentary colors and give texture to your planet, sun or moon
• Let dry.
• Poke a hole in the center of the plate with a nail or sharp pencil (adult assistance).
• Print out the template(s) of choice.  There are a wide variety to choose from!
• Optional:  glue the template page onto thin cardboard (old cereal boxes or poster board, for example) to make your creation sturdier
• use the hole punch to punch a hole in the bottom of the template rectangle.
• Color (B&W version) and cut out the templates.
• Push the brass brad through the paper plate and the templates you've chosen.
• orbit your characters around your planet!

Templates:

• Close the template window after printing to return to this screen.
• Set page margins to zero if you have trouble fitting the template on one page (FILE, PAGE SETUP or FILE, PRINTER SETUP in most browsers).

Alien template                     (color)    or   (B&W)

Astronaut template             (color)    or   (B&W)

Cow template                      (color)    or   (B&W)

Earth template                   (color)    or   (B&W)

Moon template                   (color)    or   (B&W)

Rocket template                 (color)    or   (B&W)

Space Shuttle template     (color)    or   (B&W)

Star template                      (color)    or   (B&W)

UFO template                     (color)    or   (B&W)

Print friendly version of these instructions