How to Make a Homemade Astronaut Helmet

Create an astronaut helmet with paper mache.

Astronaut costumes are often seen during Halloween, worn by both children and adults. Since no astronaut is complete without a helmet, you will want to make one that is sized to be comfortable on your head. You will do this using papier-mache, which is a technique of layering paper and glue to produce solid objects. This space helmet is fairly easy and quite affordable to make.

Things You'll Need

• Balloons
• Newspaper
• Glue
• Water
• Mixing bowl
• Razor blade
• Spray primer
• Spray paint
• Transparency sheet
• Scissors
• Brads
• Stickers or paint

Instructions

1. Tear pieces of newspaper into 6-inch strips.

2. Mix 1/2-inch thick school glue and 1/2 cup water in a bowl.

3. Blow up a balloon so that it is a bit larger than your head.

4. Dip a strip of newspaper into the water/glue mixture, then smooth it onto the surface of the balloon.

5. Completely cover the balloon with overlapping strips of newspaper and glue.

6. Apply three more layers of newspaper, then let the helmet dry.

7. Cut the bottom off of the helmet with a razor blade so that you can fit your head into it. The bottom of the hole should rest at chin level. This will pop the balloon.

8. Inflate a second balloon in the open hole, positioned half in, and half out of the helmet.

9. Apply four layers of papier-mache in a ring around the base of the helmet, using the second balloon as a form. This ring should be wide enough to reach the midpoint of your neck. Overlap the ring onto the helmet to bond the two together.

10. Allow the papier-mache to dry, then pop the balloon.

11. Cut a face hole in the front of the helmet.

12. Paint the helmet with two coats of spray primer, then two coats of white spray paint. Allow each coat to dry completely.

13. Round the corners of a dark transparency sheet, which can be found in office supply stores.

14. Attach the transparency sheet over the face hole with two brads, punched through the upper corners of the sheet and through the helmet. Separate the two legs of each brad inside of the helmet to prevent them from pulling out. This will create a hinged visor for the helmet.

15. Decorate the helmet with paint or NASA stickers.

References

• DLTK Kids: How to Paper Mache

Resources

• NASA Insignias