Crafts with cardboard boxes

In this fun activity for kids, students can make cool crafts out of cardboard boxes.

Use a cardboard box of any size and other recyclables you can find and use safely. We challenge you to get creative and bring one of our ideas to life or go a step further and invent your own project.

Students should be encouraged to draw or write about as many ideas as possible for their cardboard box creation. They could make a castle, robot, rocket, or musical instrument. Learners could even think about a box they could get into or have fun with. No idea is too big!

How long will this activity take?

This activity will take approximately 30-59 minutes to complete.

The engineering context

Engineers must understand the environmental impact of the designs they produce and how their carbon footprint can be reduced, for example, by using recycled or reused materials more.

This activity encourages resourcefulness by repurposing materials that might otherwise be discarded. Children can learn the value of recycling and environmental sustainability by transforming cardboard into imaginative creations.

These crafts also enhance problem-solving skills as children conceptualise, plan, and construct their projects, developing critical thinking and spatial awareness.

Download the free Crafts with cardboard boxes activity sheet!

All activity sheets and supporting resources are free to download, and all the documents are fully editable, so you can tailor them to your students’ and your schools’ needs.

The activity sheet includes teacher notes, guidance, useful web links, and links (where appropriate) to the national curriculum in each of the four devolved UK nations; England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales.

Don’t forget to take photos of your finished cardboard box design and share them with us @IETeducation.