Recycled Robot Bank

Use recycled materials to make a fun robot bank. Pair this craft with a lesson about the importance of saving and identifying the different coins and what they’re worth.
Materials
- Paint Brushes Triangle Handle
- Glitter Fuzzy Sticks
- Black Glitter Glue 8 oz.
- Acrylic Paint Jars, 24 Assorted colors
- Wiggly Eyes 25mm
- Shoe box
- 2 wide mouth plastic bottles
- Bottle Caps and Plastic Lids
- Egg Carton
- Heavy Duty Scissors **May require adult assistance
- Black Marker
- Tacky Glue
- Wax Paper
Instructions
Step 1. Gather your supplies.
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| Step 2.
Place one of the water bottles against one side of the box. Use your marker to mark the box, make one mark near the top and another mark closer to the bottom. Tip: if the bottle has ridges, you can mark where the ridges are, that will make the bottles easier to attach. |
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| Step 3.
**Have an adult use the end of the scissors or a utility knife to cut holes where you made your marks in Step 2. |
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| Step 4.
Starting from the inside of the box, insert a blue Glitter Stick through the top hole in the box, wrap it around the bottle, as shown. |
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| Step 5.
Insert the other end of the Glitter Stick back through the hole, and twist to attach the pieces together. |
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| Step 6.
Repeat Steps 4-5 to attach the bottom of the bottle to the box. |
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| Step 7.
Repeat Steps 2-6 on the other side of the box. Now remove both bottles and Glitter Sticks from the box. |
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| Step 8.
**Have an adult use the end of the scissors to cut 2 holes in the top of your box, about an inch apart. |
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| Step 9. Using tacky glue, attach 2 large bottle lids to the front of the box, a little more than halfway up. These will be used for the eyes of your robot. Let dry. |
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| Step 10.
Place both water bottles and the 2 egg carton cups on some wax paper. Using Simply Spray® Blue Project Paint, spray one even coat of paint on the water bottles and egg carton cups. Begin and end spraying off the project to prevent splatter. Let the paint dry approximately 30 minutes and repeat with one more coat of spray, if needed. |
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| Step 11.
Place the box, which is now the body of the robot, on some wax paper. Using Simply Spray® White Project Paint, spray one even coat of paint on all sides of the body (You can leave the bottom of the box unpainted, this will keep the box from sticking). Begin and end spraying off the project to prevent splatter. Let the paint dry approximately 30 minutes and repeat with one more coat of spray, if needed. |
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| Step 12.
Once all the painted pieces have dried, attach the bottles back to the body. |
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| Step 13.
To make the antenna for the robot, insert a Silver Glitter Stick into the holes on the top of the box. The ends should stick out the top. To make feet for your robot, use tacky glue to attach the egg carton cups to the bottom of the body. |
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| Step 14.
Glue the Wood Shapes, Wiggly Eyes and remaining bottle caps to the body of the robot. You can be creative with the pieces, placing the bottle caps on top of the Wood Shapes to make buttons. |
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| Step 15.
Paint designs and accents on your robot. |
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| Step 16.
To finish your robot, trace around the Wood Shapes, and bottle lids with the black Glitter Glue. Now your ready to start saving. Keep money in the robot’s water bottles arms. One side can be used to save for small purchases. The other side can be used for long term saving. |
Further Discussion:
Use this craft as a great way to introduce your children to a system to save money. Use both bottles to save money for a different purpose. One is for long term savings, which can they deposit into a real bank account, while the other is to save up their allowance for short term goals, like a particular toy or treat! |