Hi, this is Joelle Meijer.
The environment is a subject close to my heart and to celebrate Earth Day,
I have a very special project : a giant Earth.
To create the Earth you will need a giant spherical balloon; by giant balloon I mean
that inflated, the balloon should be around 3 feet in diameter.
For this project you will be using the paper mache technique.
You will need old newspapers and glue.
You can use wallpaper paste or diluted white glue.
Start by cutting or tearing off strips of newspaper.
As the Earth is going to be quite big, you will need a lot of paper.
Then, mix the glue. Wallpaper paste may come in a bucket already mixed and ready to use
or as a powder that you have to dilute.
A large project like the Earth is really an ideal project to make with a group.
Inflate the balloon and put it on a stable base.
Dip the newspaper strips into the glue, remove the excess glue
and glue the strips on the balloon.
Glue them so they are not all in the same direction.
Gluing the paper strips in different directions makes the paper mache stronger.
To ensure that the Earth is sturdy enough, put several layers of paper mache
and let dry after each layer.
Try to maintain the balloon covered with paper mache in an environment
with a more or less constant temperature.
I experimented with drying paper mache in the sun to go faster
and that was not a good idea.
Indeed, the heat causes the air in the balloon to expand and it cracks the paper mache.
Then, when you put a second layer of paper mache over it,
that cools the air in the balloon and the paper mache forms ripples.
When you have put enough layers of paper mache, let dry completely.
When it's dry, the Earth should be firm enough to touch and paint.
Start by painting the Earth completely blue.
As you can see, I used a large tube to support the Earth.
It's very convenient to be able to turn the Earth in all directions
and paint the different sections.
When you have painted the Earth completely with blue paint,
draw the different continents. The idea is to get as close as possible to reality,
but it's OK if you don’t get the proportions exactly right.
Before painting the continents green, paint them with white paint.
Green paint is quite transparent and it would take several coats of green
to cover the blue paint completely.
The white paint will hide the blue paint and it will help bring out the green paint.
You can use tan or brown paint to represent deserts or mountains
that are found everywhere on Earth.
As I said above, this big project is ideal as a group activity.
In addition, the students learn to work together and to respect each other’s work.
This is a good way to develop team spirit and mutual support.
When you're finished, you can add a coat of acrylic varnish if you want.
The varnish will protect your work.
Now that you have finished the Earth, you will work on the stand.
Take a tube like the ones used for pouring concrete and cut the height you need.
The tube I used is about 2 feet high but I could have made it higher.
Paint it in a colour of your choice.
I painted my tube brown because I visualized the tube as a tree trunk
and the Earth like foliage that absorbs carbon dioxide and produces oxygen.
Oxygen is a source of life for us and our planet.
Place the Earth on the painted tube. Ask each student in your class or your school
to trace their forearm and hand on a sheet of coloured paper.
Cut out the forearm and hand with scissors and glue all the arms around the tube.
Glue them on different levels with all the hands visible
as if they were holding up the Earth.
The message here is that together we can make a difference in our environment.
By choosing different colours for the hands, I wanted to symbolize human diversity around
the Earth. You can also trace the forearms and hands on white paper
and let the students decorate their project in an original way.
Don't forget to send me pictures of your giant Earth project
so that I can share them on my blog.
To access the free document with the step by step instructions of this project,
click on the link below the video!