By Noreen Doll.
Recycle your foam containers into these fun DIY foam flyers.
These flyers are fun for kids of all ages, and what a great way to use your recyclables!
You can use the top of a foam egg carton, the foam take-out containers, or the foam that fruits and veggies come packed on.
Do not use any foam that has held meat – they cannot be cleaned well enough for re-use.
If they use white foam, your kids can draw on them with markers and create airplane markings. Or add camouflage by blotching on patches of green, black, brown or yellow paint.
I liked the black foam because it makes a great stealth plane.
DIY foam flyers could make a fun birthday party activity, and then the kids could fly them when they are finished making them.
I used a foam plane as a pattern, but it’s such a basic shape that it would be easy to draw your own.
Double Sided Tape, Duct Tape, or Electrical Tape
Cardboard for Pattern
Utility Knife, optional (Should only be used by an adult.)
How to Make DIY Foam Flyers.
1. Draw or trace your pattern on a piece of cardboard.
Cut it out. Then trace it onto thin recycled styrofoam.
You can cut the foam with scissors, but you need to be gentle to keep from bending or breaking it.
2. Use the utility knife or scissors tip to make the slits. After I made the slits, I used the closed scissors to widen the slit.
You want the wings and tail to fit snuggly, but the slit has to be large enough to allow them to slide in.
3. Tape a penny to the nose. I used double sided tape, but if the plane will receive rough treatment, you can use electrical tape or a narrow strip of duct tape to attach the penny.
The DIY foam flyers are ready to fly.
Remember to be very gentle when putting the plane together, as the foam bends and breaks easily.
Because the black foam was VERY thick, it was hard to cut around the shape.
So i cut large chunks of the excess foam away before I tried to cut out the pieces. That made them much less likely to bend or break.
The edges were a little rough, so after cutting, I rubbed them on a hard surface to smooth them.
© Noreen Doll