How to Make a Boat From Paper Boxes

Use paper boxes to make whimsical boat crafts.

Children enjoy sailing boats in streams, lakes or even bathtubs. You can buy a boat at a hobby shop or toy store, or you can make a toy boat out of basic materials found around the house. When you make a homemade paper boat with children, it can give you the opportunity to demonstrate to them how a material as permeable as paper can become waterproof by covering it with a natural sealant.

Things You'll Need

• Hot glue gun
• Hot glue stick
• 2 paper shoeboxes
• Beeswax
• Coffee can
• Pot
• Paintbrush

Instructions

1. Insert a hot glue stick into a hot glue gun, and plug the gun into an electrical outlet to warm up for five minutes.

2. Place a cardboard paper shoebox onto a tabletop.

3. Squeeze hot glue onto one of the short sides of a second shoebox. Then insert the glued end of the second shoe box vertically into the first shoebox, placing it at one end of the box. Allow the glue to cool and harden, which will take about five minutes.

4. Place a half pound of beeswax into an empty coffee can. Then place the coffee can into a pot, and fill the pot halfway with water. Heat the pot until the wax melts.

5. Paint the melted beeswax over the outside of the first shoe box in a thick layer using a paintbrush. Allow the beeswax to cool completely before placing the paper box boat into water. The beeswax will keep the boat water-tight.

References

• E Soul Shine: Beeswax Recipes