Halloween Card STEM Craft
Every year we celebrate Halloween in a BIG way! We love tackling our 31 Days of Halloween STEM Activities. The kids look forward to it all year long! And every year I try and add some new and different activities. When kids are passionate about something it is a great thing to tap into to promote learning and hands on discovery! So today we are doing a STEM Craft creating Halloween cards that SPIN when opened! This STEM activity will involve a bit of math, understanding physics, plus engineering! Even better, your child can pick whether they want to do a bat or a pumpkin with our free printable templates.
DIY Spooky Halloween 3D Cards to Make You JUMP!
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Now my kids are getting older they love a good jump scare! This Halloween Card activity is far from the scariest thing in the world, but with the right situation you can definitely cause a few startles when people open the card and a bat or pumpkin starts rapidly spinning in front of them!
My kids LOVE this!!!
Now this project is so great because kids LOVE making these cards. It is so easy to do with our printable templates and easy to follow instructions. I even have a video showing you step by step what to do!
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The cards can be used to decorate a classroom or homeschool room. They can be used as Halloween party invites. Add a candy and gift them to a friend for Halloween. Or just for kids to make and proudly show off their creations!
I know my kids love keeping these Halloween Cards and opening and closing them over and over again. So much Halloween fun!
Halloween Card Supplies
Printer
Cardstock
Scissors
Tape
Glue/glue stick
Clear or white thread
Ruler
Template – Free for STEAM Powered Family Mailing List Members.
Spinning STEM Card Instructions
The Templates
Sign up to the STEAM Powered Family mailing list to instantly unlock the printable. Download the printable and print both sheets on cardstock. A nice bright white card stock is best.
Engineering the Card
Cut sheet 1 in half, along the dotted line.
Fold and crease the bottom part of the sheet in half, forming the card base.
Cut out the rectangle portion from the top of the sheet. Fold and crease it in half, then fold (and crease) each end toward the middle crease, forming a W shape. Check out this photo to see what I mean. This piece will go inside of the card.
Make the Spinning Feature
Next, carefully cut the middle circle out of the inner card, along the dotted line.
Cut out both Jack-O-Lanterns, bats and other decorations from the second sheet. Pick which one you would like to use for your spinning feature, Jack O’ Lantern or Bats!
Coat the back side of one of the Jack-O-Lanterns or bats with glue.
Cut an 8-10” length of thread.
Place the thread in the middle of a pumpkin or bat, evenly adhering it to the very middle. If it is not in the middle your centerpiece will not spin well. Place the other pumpkin or bat exactly on top of it. Press together.
Flip the inner card over, with the wrong side facing up.
Position the object in the very center of the cut out circle.
Place the length of each end of the thread along the middle crease of the back side of the inner card. Tape this thread down inside the crease, using scotch tape. (You may want to add a bit of glue under the tape, for an extra secure hold.) Trim any extra thread and/or tape.
Putting It All Together
Using a ruler, measure ¾ inch from each outer edge of the card base. Mark lightly with a pencil.
Using this mark as a guide, position the inner card onto the inside of the card base, one ¾ inch from each side. Erase the pencil marks.
Glue the outer sections of it down. Leave the inner portion (with spinning object) free of glue.
Add the remaining decorations and to your card wherever you like. Just be sure they do not get in the way of any of the folded creases!
How To Make The Card Spin
To get the Jack-O-Lantern or bat to spin, carefully twist it several times in one direction before closing the card. When the card is opened the Jack O’ Lantern or Bat will spin! To reset it simply twist it in one direction again and close the card.
Lessons Learned
In this Halloween Card STEM Craft kids are learning skills in math, engineering and even physics. Not to mention arts and crafts. Kids will need to take measurements and cut accurately, then engineer their cards to ensure they are assembled properly.
Then, to make their cards work, they will need to explore the physics.
As we mentioned above you will need to wind up the Jack O’ Lantern or Bat. This will create what is known as Potential Energy. It is just waiting to spin, but it can’t because the energy is being held by the closed card. Once the card is opened, the Jack O’ Lantern or Bat is freed and the potential energy transforms to kinetic energy and it spins.
Hopefully giving the recipient a good jump scare if you are one of my kids!
Happy Halloween!
Want more Spinning Card STEM Crafts? Check out our other designs!