Balancing butterflies were hot this summer, but did you know that you can make the exact same balancing toy in a variety of forms? Just as with my balancing butterfly tutorial, we’re going to use pennies, cardboard record album covers, and hot glue, but we’re going to redraw the butterfly template and turn that sweet springtime flutterby into a creepily hovering bat. You will need:
Cardboard record album cover, or any paper of similar weight, such as cereal box cardboard, or Bristol board. Two pennies Glue stick and hot glue Pencil, paper, and scissors Materials to decorate, if desired
- Fold your plain paper in half, and starting at the folded center, draw one half of a bat. The bat should have a small head and large, widespread wings that sweep well above that head.
- Cut out the bat template and unfold it.
- Lay the template onto a piece of cardboard, trace around it, and cut it out.
- Using the glue stick, glue a penny to the forward tip of each wing.
- Test your bat. You should be able to balance your bat on one finger, and its weight should be centered somewhere far forward, ideally at its head. If the bat doesn’t balance, redraw your template. If the bat doesn’t balance at all, then likely its wings need to be even wider and more forward of its head. If the bat balances too close to the middle of its body, then its wings need to be more forward. If the bat balances too close to the top of its head, or seems like it would balance past the top of its head, then the wings are swept too far forward.
- When the bat works well, replace the glue stick with hot glue. I like to glue the pennies tails-up for some Halloween-style bad luck. Making and playing with these bats is an absorbing activity to occupy children at a Halloween party, and the bats also look very creepy balanced uncannily on the top edges of shelves and cupboards and all around the house.
