A Paper Caterpillar That Really Crawls

🎂 5 + years ⏱️ 20 min 📍 Anywhere ⭐ easy

Imagine you are making a little caterpillar, just from paper. It has a face, it can move, and if you want, it can race against other caterpillars. You don’t need batteries, no motor, just a piece of paper, your hands, and your breath. You will learn more than you think. You fold very carefully and realize how important it is to pay attention. You blow and see: air can move things. You laugh as your caterpillar slowly wiggles forward. And maybe you’ll even get really ambitious when it comes to getting your caterpillar to the finish line.

What you'll need

1 sheet of paper (A4)
1 pair of scissors
1 straw
Markers or colored pencils

How it works

Cut a strip about two fingers wide from the short side of your A4 paper. The strip should be straight, so take your time cutting. The cleaner it is, the better your caterpillar will crawl later.
Now it's time to fold. Just like a secret trick: Fold the strip in half, short side to short side. Open the fold again. Now you see a center line.
Now take the left side and fold it to the center. Then fold the right side to the center.
And now fold both sides to the center again.
Finally, fold it all together. Take your scissors and round off the four corners of your folded caterpillar. Don’t cut too much, just enough so there are no sharp corners.
And now: Carefully unfold! Your caterpillar suddenly looks really alive. The shape makes it move when you blow on it, almost like a real one. Take a marker and draw a face on your caterpillar.
Grab a straw and blow from above onto the caterpillar. Off it goes! Want to race? Then set a start and finish line and compete against parents, friends, or siblings. Who can blow their caterpillar to the finish line first?