Futuristic Crafts for Kids

Everyone at some point dreams of the future and what might exist then. Children especially will love to use their imaginations to dream up futuristic clothes, transportation or other ideas and create them from simple craft materials.

Hats can be a fun craft with an element of silliness as children can create, then wear, headgear from the future. You need construction paper or card stock, paints, crayons, glue or a stapler, pencils, scissors and yarn, and materials to glue to the hat like pipe cleaners, pompoms, beads and shiny or sparkly pieces of paper or sequins. Give children plain paper and pencils and ask them to design a hat they think might be worn in the future. Encourage their creativity by suggesting functions for the hat in the future. Once children have drafted the hat on paper, allow them to create it with the materials you have provided. After, allow children to wear their hats. You can also take pictures of the children in all of their hats.

It is always fun for children to try to guess what other children might enjoy in hundreds of years while sharing information about themselves. A time capsule is a simple and easy way for kids to enjoy this activity. To create a time capsule, you only need a shoe box and materials to decorate such as paints and crayons. Explain to the children that in many hundreds of years there will still be children on Earth just like them. However, because times will be so different, they will enjoy different activities and they will have different toys and possibly different accessories they use for survival or hygiene. Ask children to brainstorm what they enjoy doing now for entertainment, or the things that are necessary for their survival. Ask children to gather those things. Then, have them draw pictures and label. Explain the concept of the time capsule and ask the children to decorate it. Then, fill it with the pictures of their favorite things. You may ask them to choose one item of their own that they think children in 100 years might enjoy and put it in the time capsule. Find a place outside to dig a hole and place the time capsule. Label what year the capsule should be opened.

Children can dream up future transportation options and create them with household materials. To create the transportation of the future, kids will need a shoe box, paints, crayon, glue, construction paper and scissors. Ask children to brainstorm what kind of transportation they think will exist in the future and why or how it will be used. Encourage them to be creative but to also consider how the transportation will be powered. Next, provide the shoe box as the base of the transportation. Children can add any number of materials to the shoe box, cut out holes, and decorate it.

Children who enjoy clothing design can have a good time imagining what people will wear in the future. With some dolls, fabric, scissors, glue and things to adorn the fabric like beads, buttons, pipe cleaners, yarn, straws and other household materials, kids can get creative in coming up with their own cutting-edge clothing design for the people of tomorrow. To get started, allow the children to choose a doll. Excite their imaginations talking about clothing for the future. Let them experiment as they choose fabrics and materials and measure with the measuring tape, or other non-standard units if they choose. Guide them in how to attach seams together, cutting the proper sizes and lengths. When finished allow the children to have their futuristic dolls play or have a futuristic tea party together.