Sarcophagus
Supplies*:
•4 tri-fold boards
•Utility knife
•Long ruler
•3 or more different colors
of duct tape
•Large foam ball
•Black marker
•Foam board
•Poster board
•Roll of brown packaging paper
•Burlap cloth
•Spray adhesive
•Acrylic paints
•Paint brushes
Directions:
1. Use a utility knife to cut two tri-fold boards down the
center so you have two folding pieces. Note: Do not mix
the pieces. (For safety purposes, we recommend wearing
leather gloves when using the utility knife. Never leave
the utility knife where children can pick it up.)
Step 1
2. Angle the two widest sides so that they touch corner to
corner at the top, and overlap at the bottom. Apply duct
tape on both sides.
Step 2
3. Cut out a piece of foam board with the width (b) equal to
the width across the narrowest part of the sarcophagus,
and the depth equal to 12” (a).
a
a
b
b
Step 3
4. Attach the base to the bottom of the sarcophagus with
duct tape. It’s okay if the duct tape shows – it will be
covered later. Set the bottom of the sarcophagus aside
for later assembly.
Step 4
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5. Take one of the remaining tri-fold boards and cut along
the hinges on each side about 12” from the top. Cut a
semi-circle in the top of the inner board.
Step 5
6. Curve the loose part of the left and right side panels toward
the center and tape to the edge of the center panel.
Step 6
7. Cut a long piece of poster board 12” deep and tape to the
top to complete the curve.
Step 7
8. Attach the top and bottom halves of the sarcophagus
with duct tape.
9. For the lid of the sarcophagus, repeat steps 1-8. The lid
will be shallower, so cut the side panels down to 6”.
10. Before attaching the bottom and top halves of the
lid, place the two parts of the lid on the base of the
sarcophagus and then attach the two pieces together
using duct tape.
Step 8
11. To decorate the sarcophagus, first spray mount a layer of
brown packaging paper on the inside walls of the base.
12. Spray mount and line the base with a layer of burlap cloth.
13. Duct tape or spray paint the whole outside of the
sarcophagus gold.
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14. Use colored tape to make patterns and stripes on the side
of the lid.
15.On the front of the lid, make a pattern or cover it with a
variety of widths and colors of duct tape.
Step 14
16.Using foam board, cut out the Fair-oh’s headdress and
create the blue and gold stripes using duct tape or acrylic
paint. Use the template on page 4 of these instructions as
a guide.
Step 16
17.To make the Fair-oh’s face, cut off the
bottom two inches of a 12” foam ball with
a utility knife and cover the smaller portion
of the ball with gold duct tape as smoothly
as possible. Draw a face on the round side
with a marker, and glue the flat side onto
the center of the headpiece.
Step 17
18.On another foam board, draw an outline of the arms and
book, cut it out, and paint. Use the template on page 5
of these instructions as a guide. Before gluing it down,
paint shoulders on your Fair-oh.
19.Once the paint has dried, glue the arms on the lid in line
with the shoulders.
Step 18
Step 21
20.To make the snake for the headdress, cut out a snake
shape from scrap cardboard, cover it in gold duct tape,
and draw its tongue and eyes with a marker.
21.For the beard, cut a cone-shaped piece from black poster
board or construction paper. To make lines on the beard,
use small strips of grey duct tape, a silver marker, or grey
acrylic paint.
*Remember, these are only suggestions. This project should be
fun and creative, so use whatever supplies you have on-hand
for substitutions.
Permission to reproduce this item is granted
by Scholastic Book Fairs.
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© 2013 Scholastic Inc. 10921 • 131231
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