A Wonder-ful Time

Build your very own model of the Coney Island Wonder Wheel using materials found at home.   

Celebrate the 100th birthday of this iconic amusement park ride with historic facts about Coney Island and vintage images from the Museum’s photography collection.   

In this virtual video, Amanda Kingloff, founder of PROJECT KID, will teach you the basics for creating this 3-D model Ferris wheel.   

Craft projects are geared toward families and kids ages 7 and up. Younger children may require adult supervision, and all families are encouraged to craft together. 

Free, registration recommended. Registered attendees will receive an event reminder. 

Each session will begin streaming on YouTube and Facebook at 10am on the listed day, and will be available afterwards for later viewing.

Materials and Steps

Build a Model Wonder Wheel

• Sturdy paper or plastic disposable plate
• Hole punch
• Cardboard egg carton
• Cardboard 
• Scissors
• Twine, string, or yarn
• Paint and paintbrushes
• Small beads
• Toothpick
• Masking tape
• Glue
• Metal fasteners

Wheel:

1. Poke a hole in the plate (let a grown-up do this part) and cut out the center, just leaving the rim.
2. Punch 8 holes around the rim. The best way to make sure they are even is to punch them directly opposite from one another.
3. Cut a long piece of string and tie in onto one of the holes. Thread the string directly across the circle through the opposite hole and then come back through the first one. Then, thread the string through hole directly to the right and then across the circle, through the opposite hole. Repeat two more times until you have a starburst or asterisk made from string. Tie the end to the final hole. (Tip: Make sure the string is pulled pretty tight, but not too tight to warp the plate rim.)
4. Stick toothpick through the center of the starburst and knot a piece of twine around it to keep it secure. Set the wheel aside.

Stand:

1. Cut a piece of cardboard, about 18-by-2-inches. (Make sure you cut the cardboard against the corrugation so that it’s easy to bend.)
2. Paint cardboard. Let dry. (You can choose to cover the edge of the cardboard with a colored masking tape, but it’s not necessary. It just adds a nice finish.)
3. Bend cardboard so that each end is about 8 inches and the center is about 2 inches, forming a very skinny “U”. Trim each 8” end so that the ends narrow to about 1 inch. Tape the top edge together to form a triangle.

Passenger cabins:

1. Cut up an egg carton and paint each cup; let dry.
2. Punch a hole in the back of each cup.
3. Attach each cup to the wheel using metal fasteners. Try not to attach them too tightly...if you keep them loose, the passenger cabins will spin as the wheel spins.

Put it together!

1. Poke the toothpick (it’s already attached to the wheel) through the top of the cardboard stand.
2. Trim down the toothpick, then glue beads on the front and back of the toothpick, covering the rough edge.

About PROJECT KID 

PROJECT KID is dedicated to offering families creative and inventive ways to spend unplugged time with kids. From DIY crafts to party ideas to home décor solutions, they mix traditional craft, upcycled, and household materials in surprising ways. Amanda Kingloff, the founder of Project Kid, has been creating lifestyle content for over 15 years. After her six-year stint as Lifestyle Director at Parents Magazine, Amanda published “the ultimate kids’ craft book” with Artisan Books, titled Project Kid. Two years later she published her second book, Project Kid: Crafts that Go! Amanda creates content for magazines, websites, and brands, encouraging kids to create the worlds they want to live in. She lives in Brooklyn, NY with her husband and two children, Oliver and Sommer.