How to Build the Eiffel Tower With Popsicle Sticks

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Things You'll Need

  • 4 jumbo craft sticks

  • 6 regular craft sticks

  • 8 toothpicks

  • Small, rectangular cardboard box, 4 inches long and 2 inches wide

  • Hot glue gun

  • Hot glue sticks

  • Brown paint

  • Paintbrush

  • Craft knife

  • Sandpaper

Let's your child's imagination soar by building a Paris landmark.

July 14 is Bastille Day, France's national holiday. Take this opportunity--or any other time just for fun--for a craft and history lesson by helping your kids to build a craft stick replica of the Eiffle Tower. This craft is simple enough for young children, with some help with cutting. Older children can make this the start of a French diorama.

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Step 1

Make the base of the Eiffel Tower by cutting the rectangular box so that it measures measures 4 inches long, 2 inches deep and 2 inches high. Cut small rectangles from the sides to make corner legs.

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Step 2

Cut a 2-inch by 3-inch rectangle from the remaining cardboard. This is for the upper base.

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Step 3

Cut the four large craft sticks in half and sand the cut edges smooth. Cut the round ends off four of the smaller craft sticks, and the round end off one end of each of the remaining two. Sand the cut edges. Cut the pipe cleaners into thirds and set aside.

Step 4

Paint the bases, the sticks and the toothpicks brown. Let them dry.

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Step 5

Glue four of the large craft stick pieces into the four corners of the larger base so that they elongate the cardboard legs. Glue the round end into the cardboard so that the tower will sit on the cut ends. Trim the ends if necessary to allow for the base to stand evenly on its feet.

Step 6

Make four slits centered in the top of the base to fit the four remaining pieces of jumbo craft stick. The slits should coincide with the size of the smaller base. Slide the rounded ends of the craft sticks into the slits and glue in place. Glue the smaller base on top of these sticks. You now have a double base raised on legs.

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Step 7

Hold two of the four smaller craft sticks that have no rounded ends so that the tops are together and the bottoms opened about as wide as the top base. Glue the tops together. Glue each of the bottoms to adjacent corners of one side of the top base. Repeat with the last two small craft sticks with no rounded ends and the other side of the base. You now have a double base with two long, narrow triangular towers straddling it on top.

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Step 8

Take the remaining two smaller craft sticks and hold them so they are together on one end and are wide enough apart at the bottom to glue to the towers you just built. Glue the tops. Glue one of the bottom ends to one of the towers and one to the other, straddling them. You now have a double base with a tall, narrow triangular pyramid on top.

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Step 9

Cut the ends off all of the toothpicks. Cut six of them in half. Glue two small pieces to one large piece to make an X, with one small piece on either side of the large piece. Glue this X to the bottom of the pyramid. Repeat five times, trimming the toothpicks as necessary to fit.

Step 10

Cut one third off each of the final two toothpicks. Glue the larger two stacked on top of each other near the top of the pyramid. Glue the smaller two stacked on top above those.

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