How to Make a Starfish Out of a Wire Hanger

Home art projects can help kinesthetic learners retain information.

Hands-on craft projects can reinforce the education your children receive in school. Many students learn best by doing, rather than listening or watching, and craft projects feel more like games than lessons. After your child learns about ocean life in school, make sea creatures with him at home. Discuss the creatures as you work -- for example, explain to your child that your starfish will have five arms, just like most real starfish. Display your finished project on your child's dresser, desk or bathroom vanity.

Things You'll Need

• Thin wire hanger
• Scissors or wire clippers
• Tape
• Ruler

Instructions

1. Cut the hook off a thin metal hanger using scissors or wire clippers. Cover the sharp ends of the hanger with tape to protect yourself and your child while you work. Discard the hook.

2. Straighten the wire as much as possible. Measure it with a ruler, and divide its total length by 10 to determine how long each side of the starfish will be. For example, if the hanger is 30 inches long, each side of the starfish will be 3 inches long.

3. Mark each of the 10 equal lengths on the wire with a small piece of tape. For a 30-inch hanger, put a piece of tape at 3 inches, 6 inches, 9 inches and so on.

4. Bend the hanger at the first piece of tape into a sharp angle, approximately 30 degrees. This is the top of the first arm of the starfish.

5. Bend the hanger at the second piece of tape into a gentler angle, approximately 45 degrees. This is the joint of the first arm and the second arm.

6. Alternate 30-degree and 45-degree angles at each of the remaining pieces of tape. The angle sizes do not need to be exact, as long as the bends by the starfish's body are wider than the bends at the ends of its arms.

7. Remove the protective pieces of tape from the ends of the wire. Fasten the two ends together with a fresh piece of tape if you wish, or simply press them together tightly and leave them unattached.

Tips & Warnings

• Use the thinnest wire hanger you can find.

• Cut the wire yourself, rather than letting your children do it. Do not leave children alone while they work on this project.

References

• Enchanted Learning: Sea Stars