Egg-Carton Owl

Create an egg-carton owl that's a real hoot!

Skill Level: Moderate

Time Needed: 1 hour

Age(s): 7 to 10

Appropriate For: Thanksgiving

Supplies Needed:

Project Rating:

Use a brown paper lunch bag for the owl's body. Paint feathers on the bag with acrylic paint. Let the bag dry completely.
Cut out wings and ears from brown construction paper. Glue them to the paper bag. Let the glue dry completely.
Cut a two-cup sectoin from an egg carton. Paint the egg carton to resemble the owl's eyes. Glue a pair of Jiggly Eyes to the bottom of the egg-carton cups. Let the paint and the glue dry completely.
Glue the egg carton to the paper bag. Let the glue dry completely.
Hang up your owl for all to see!

Teaching Tips:

Discuss owls with your students. Talk about some interesting facts about owls, such as they are birds of prey, they are nocturnal, and they are solitary, or live alone. Have students research owls and write the facts that they learn on note cards. Hang students' note cards with their paper-bag owls around the classroom.
There are over 200 different species of owls! Encourage each student to select a different species of owl. Have students research their owls and provide brief reports to the class on their findings.
Owls typically live by themselves. However, a group of owls is called a parliament. Introduce students to other collective nouns for animal groups. Some examples include a warren of rabbits, a sleuth of bears, and a crash of rhinoceroses. Give students a collective noun, and encourage them to guess the correct animal family it belongs to.
Read students the nursery rhyme entitled A Wise Old Owl. Ask students to interpret wha this nursery rhyme means. Why do students think owls have the reputation for being wise creatures?