Duck Tape Recycled Robot

Instead of tossing your empty cereal box in the recycle bin, save it to make this fun robot kid craft! Just think of all the recycled items in your kitchen that you could use to build your own creation. Vegetable cans and soda cans are great for legs and a head, while paper towel tubes make ideal robot arms!

As you go through these instructions, you’ll notice that I have used a hot glue gun. You don’t have to use hot glue, but it does set up a lot faster. Other alternatives include white craft glue and instant grab glue, both available in craft supply stores. If you decide to use hot glue, a grown up should handle those steps.

For this robot I used the following supplies:

1 Kix cereal box
1 soda can
2 vegetable cans
2 cardboard paper towel tubes
1 plastic wide mouth drinking cup
2 googly eyes
Assorted plastic lids
Colored craft jewels in various sizes
2 green plastic coated paper clips
3 colors of Duck Tape (neon green, purple, rainbow)
Bag of dried beans or rice (for weight)
Hot glue gun
Scissors/craft knife
Pen

First, place the bag or dried beans or rice inside the cereal box. Next, cut your arm holes. Place the cereal box on its side and trace the cardboard tube onto it. Use a craft knife (a grown up should handle this part) to cut out the circle.

Cover the sides of the cereal box with green Duck Tape. When you cover the arm-holes, be sure to cut some slits in the tape and fold the tape inside the hole and inside the box.

Cover the rest of the box with green Duck Tape. You didn’t forget to put your bag of beans inside the box did you? Good.

Cover the vegetable cans completely with purple Duck Tape, including the bottom and the top opening. Cover the cardboard tubes and the and the soda can with purple tape. Insert the cardboard tubes into the arm holes and fold them in the center to bend. Hot glue the soda can to the top of the cereal box.

Use a pen to draw several vertical lines and one horizontal line going through the center. This will be the robot’s teeth. Trim the jagged pen edges off and cut into a rectangle. Glue the teeth to the lower front of the soda can.

To make the helmet, turn the plastic cup upside down and use a craft knife to poke two small holes in the bottom of the cup. Open the two paper clips and stretch them out. Poke the end of each paper clip into each hole in the cup to create the antennae. Glue googly eyes to the plastic cup, then place the cup on the soda can head.

Place a strip of rainbow Duck Tape on the front of the cereal box toward the top. Cut small strips of purple tape to create a border around the rainbow tape. Glue round craft jewels onto the rainbow strip.

Decorate the rest of the box with craft jewels and plastic lids for knobs, lights and buttons. I made a red instrument panel using a small piece of cardboard I cut into a rectangle and covered with red Duck Tape. I then glued small craft jewels to the red rectangle, then glued the “light panel” to the front of the box.

If you like, add a piece of rainbow Duck Tape to the bottom of the cereal box, overlapping the front of the box by about 1/2-inch. This just adds a bit more color. Glue the cereal box onto the two taped vegetable cans (legs).

The funnest part about making a robot from recycled materials is that every one created will look different from the next. You don’t have to use colored tape. You can leave all of your materials as is, or if you like cover them with construction paper or even paint them. Whatever strikes you, now go and have fun!

Amanda Formaro is a well-known craft expert and has been writing and crafting on the Internet for over fifteen years. Find out more on her blog, Crafts by Amanda, where she shares tutorials with step-by-step photos for adults and kids alike.