How to Make a Basketball Court Made Out of a Shoe Box

You can make a miniature model of a basketball court out of a shoe box and a few craft materials. A shoe box naturally mimics the rectangular shape of the court, then the lines must be painted on and the hoops constructed and attached. This project is great for basketball enthusiasts or as a school project.

Cut the top of the shoe box off. Cut straight down the edges of the sides and flatten the sides of the shoe box. Your shoe box must be flat to measure and paint the court. You can resurrect them later by gluing the edges back together.

Paint the bottom of the shoe box, or the court, black to represent asphalt. Black is also easiest to draw on with pencil when marking your court lines. Let the paint dry completely.

Measure exactly halfway down the court with your ruler. Draw a straight line across this point to represent half court. Draw a dot at the exact center of your half court line. With a protractor, draw a perfect circle around the dot.

Measure 3 inches from the center circle to one side of the court and mark a point there. Using your protractor, draw a half circle to represent the tip of the three-point line. Connect the three point line to a semicircle drawn from one side of the court to the court. Repeat on the opposite side of court.

Draw the high post, elbows, free throw line and paint -- the lines inside of the three point line semicircle that look like a rectangle with a rounded edge. Center these lines at the exact middle of your three point semicircle. Repeat on the other side of the court.

Paint your penciled lines with yellow or white paint. This provides a significant contrast to the black court, making each distinct.

Construct basketball hoops. Cut backboards out of cardboard or white poster paper. Draw a square in the exact middle of the backboards to represent the shooters square. Twist about 3 inches of wire into circles. Glue to the backboards with hot glue. Glue Popsicle sticks or straws to the back of the backboards and attach the hoops to the court with hot glue. Let the glue dry completely before moving the diagram.

Create the crowd. Paint the flattened sides of the shoe box black. While the black paint dries completely, cut out ovals from beige and brown construction paper to represent the heads of the audience. Paste the heads on the black paint.

Glue the sides of the shoe box back together. Where the sides once met, spread a thin line of glue. Hold the sides together for about 60 seconds to let the glue settle. Repeat for each corner.