How to Make Robot Valentine Boxes Out of Cardboard Boxes

Part of what makes a robot look like a robot is all the gears and bobs on the front.

Elementary schools sometimes require that their students have boxes for receipt of valentines on Valentine's Day. A robot box would be great for a science-fiction inclined boy or girl, and it is simple enough that most children can make one. It can be made from objects your probably have around the house. A robot valentine box should take less than an hour to put together.

Things You'll Need

• Shoe box
• Scissors
• Glue
• Aluminum foil
• Small box
• Pipe cleaners
• Construction paper
• Permanent markers, varying colors

Instructions

1. Cut a large slit in the lid of the shoe box with your scissors, about 5 inches long and .75 inches wide. You want the slit to be parallel to one of the shorter edges, about 3 inches from one of the shorter ends.

2. Pull some aluminum foil off the roll, enough to cover the lid of the box. Apply glue to the top and edges of the lid. Lay the lid, glue side down, on the foil. Wrap the foil around the edge of the lid, and crimp inside the lid. Poke the foil through the slit, and fold it inside the lip of the slit. Cover the outside of the rest of the shoe box in glue, and apply the foil as you did with the lid.

3. Cover all but one of the sides of your smaller box with foil. Put the lid on the shoe box and place it so that the slit is facing you and as far up the face as it can be. On the short side that is facing up, glue the smaller box to the shoe box on the side that you did not foil. Allow to dry. The small box is going to be your "head," the top of the shoe box will be your "shoulders" and the base of the box will be the "hips" of your robot.

4. Use your scissors to cut a long strip of construction paper, about 18 inches in length. Fold the paper in opposing directions every 1.5 inches. If the first fold is to the right, the next should be to the left. When you are done folding you should have a long zigzagged piece of paper. Repeat this process 3 more times.

5. Put glue on one end of your zigzagged paper, and glue it on the side of the shoe box, near the top. Glue another strip of paper on the opposite side of the box, at the same level. Glue the other two to the bottom, spaced a few inches from each other. These are the arms and legs of your robot.

6. Use the permanent markers to draw a face on the smaller box and add any other decorations that seem appropriate, like hearts. Write the child's name across the chest of the robot, directly above or below the slit.

Tips & Warnings

• Let your child decorate the box, even if they did not help make the rest.

• You can add stickers and other types of decorations as well.

• If you allow your child to make the box, you may want to do some of the cutting for them, especially the slit on the front of the box, which requires a bit of force. They could cut themselves, otherwise.

References

• The Little Homeschool; How to Make a Robot Valentines Box; Rhyah Fletcher; Feb 2010
• 6 Degrees; The Valentine Robot; Layle Arenskov Koncar; Feb 2011