I've had this idea for the longest time to make Little One an Airport. (I actually saw an amazing wooden toy one, but the price left me gasping for breath!) So with a little bit of imaginative thinking, some recycled containers and some craft paper...I got building.
Most importantly, I wanted an Air Traffic Control Tower. To make, I used a Lipton tea box...cut off the hinged lid and turned it upside-down. I then glued a polystyrene rectangular dish (also upside-down) to the top of the upside-down tea box - you got that right? And then I balanced a clear plastic container on top of the polystyrene container (also upside-down). I specifically didn't glue this part, so that Little One can remove the container and play with the men inside. I'm sure this picture will help make sense of my tutorial :).
The lego blocks that you can see inside the tower are the fancy computors and equipment that are used to bring aeroplanes home safely.
To make a hangar or two, I also cut off the hinged lid of a tea box and put it on it's side this time. Our smart passenger jet is parked inside one in this picture.
A nice tallish box makes for an Airport terminal...
The landing strip is a big piece of white cardboard and some coloured strips for the runway. I used the same road map for my Seussville Town.
The craft stick aeroplanes (can you spot them?) were also very easy to make. I painted the wings and added some star stickers.
I showed the boys some You Tube videos of Air Traffic Control Towers in action, as well as aeroplanes taking off and landing. It gave them a nice idea of what an Airport is like. Little One has never actually been to the Airport - that's still on our to do list .
All that's left to do is...PLAY!
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This is the most precious and special and wonderful and AMAZING AIRPORT EVER!!! When I come and visit (someday!!!) I hope to personally play with this airport for hours!!
ReplyDeleteSO.INCREDIBLY.FUN!!! Love your airplanes! I saw another nice idea on Pinterest using a toilet tube for the body, if you ever want to expand your fleet (is that the correct collective noun for airplanes??!!). LOVE your WOW pilots, too! Well done!
ReplyDeleteI love this! It looks like so much fun! Gonna have to try this out with my kids! I shared your post today http://www.jugglingwithkids.com/2012/05/weekly-kids-co-op-come-and-play-6.html
ReplyDeleteThat is so cool! I'm going to give it a try .. buying that lego would have cost you more than an arm or a leg :-)
ReplyDeleteWhat fun!! You are so creative and such a great Mom!
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