Summer Art Project 2 Weather - Wind Themes

Weather Project - Topic is Wind.

Ideas: Discuss how wind power was, and still is, used for milling to make flour and for producing electricity. Talk about the importance of determining wind direction in meteorology, and also about the effect of dangerous, disruptive winds. Introduce the Beaufort scale.

How to make a windmill

You will need:

A4 Thin Card 

Insulating Tape

Thin acetate or clear plastic sheets or heavy cellophane (clear)

Coated wire approx 8" L (20cm L)

Felt Tipped Pens

Sticky Tape

Pencils

Stapler

Scissors

5 beads (for mechanism)

hole punch (single punch)

Blue tac

Figure 1

What to do:

Roll up tightly the A4 card longways, and secure with sticky tape. Wrap around the insulating tape in spiral. You've made a tube that will be the handle or wand on to which the windmill will fixed (Figure 1)

Cut out a square that measures approx 8" (20cm) from the acetate/plastic

Make a hole in the centre of the acetate square. It will need the kind of circumference as that of a pencil. NB It will not be possible to do this with the hole punch, so try using a piece of blue tac placed at the back of where you wish to make a hole and pierce through with something pointy and sharp, use a craft knife of the very end of a pair of craft scissors to shape and enlarge. Ensure that the size of the beads you are using are  larger still or they will fall through the hole and the mechanics will fail.

Figure 2

From each corner of the acetate square make a diagonal cut toward the centre hole approx 4" (10cm) long. Perhaps use a ruler to mark out a line for accuracy. On the right corner side only of each of the four flaps that now exists, punch a hole. Fold and bend/crease down those corners with a hole so that the four holes align with the hole in the centre of the square, so that you arrive at the windmill shape as in  (figure 2)


Optional : Decorate the acetate square with patterns using the felt tipped pens.

Figure 3 

To Assemble

• Take the coated wire/garden wire or similar, and the beads. Figure 3
• Bend the wire in half as shown - thread two beads along one length so they sit at the bend
• Feed both wires at the open end through the central hole of the windmill and refold down one corner flap and feed the wires through this too, this is tricky  - this may require an extra pair of hands (remember to leave three corners loose at this stage)
• Now thread another bead along the outside of the two wires and push forward. Hold everything in place firmly
• Incorporate another corner behind the third bead by bending it down and threading two wires through its hole as you did before
• Repeat the last two instructions
• Thread on the fifth bead
• Keep everything tightly pressed in place along the wire, now separate and stretch the wires wide and wrap around the tube/wand approx 1/2" Down (2cm)  down from the top. Twist the wires together tightly five or six times together, at the back, to fix the windmill onto the tube securely
• You may need to fiddle and adjust the tension of the fittings and ensure that the windmill sits proud of the tube in order to achieve a good spin

How to Make a Character Wind Sock

You Will Need:

A4 Construction/Modelling Paper various colours

Artist's Tissue Paper or Crepe Paper of two or more colours cut into long strips 20" Long (50cm), also strands of the same paper measuring approx 13" Long (32cm) -Orange and Yellow used in the sample below.

Length of Wool approx 28" Long (65cm) L

Glue Stick

Scissors 

Sticky tape

Stapler

Curling ribbon

What to do:

Figure 4

Construct your character's face in the centre of an A4 sheet of paper, using shapes cut from different coloured paper. Stick down using the glue stick. The sample shown is a lion. Figure 4

Roll up loosely into a cylinder shape and fasten with sticky tape at the back, ensuring the facial features are a the front. Take strips of the longer length tissue paper and attach inside and all around the bottom of the cylinder tube with little squares of sticky tape and staple or two, so there is a long fringed 'skirt' hanging down

Take the shorter strands place like hair (in this case a mane) around the sides and back of the cylinder, again using small pieces of sticky tape inside the tube to secure, or staples, or a mix of both, leaving the face open. Curl up some curling ribbon with the edge of a pair of scissors and attach as you did the tissue strands. The samples aside and below shows the addition of white curls

Lastly make two small holes on both sides of the' head'.  Take one end of the length of wool thread it through one hole across the inside of the tube and out through the hole opposite. Pull the wool up and through, loop it and tie/knot it together to make a long handle