Various art supplies including paintbrushes, colored pencils, chalk, paint, and colored construction paper.

Crafts

Crafts For Educators

  • Gobble Up this Thanksgiving Craft!

    Two turkeys made of egg cartons sit against a plain background.
    Share a spirit of gratitude for Thanksgiving by upcycling an egg carton into a flock of turkeys!

    Make Your Own Recycled Paper Snowflakes

    The finished craft.
    Create snowflakes from paper tubes and paint. 

    Make a Calendar into an Envelope

    The back of a colorful envelope.
    Follow this step-by-step guide to transform a calendar, or any other scrap of paper, into an envelope.

    A Totally Tubular Upcycling Project

    A tall canister decorated and holding a ruler and long straws.
    We've put together a fresh new take on desktop organization with this special container to wrangle your rulers - Using a potato crisp can!

    From Plastic to Placemats

    A collection of colorful plastic film pieces.
    Turn discarded plastic bags into sturdy, artistic, useful products that hold value and are unlikely to be thrown away.

    Go Make a Kite

    A kite in a windowsill.
    Plastic bags can be difficult to recycle, but they're hard to avoid. This craft repurposes a large plastic bag into a fun, outdoor activity: Flying a kite!

    Piece it All Together with Marine Debris Art Calendar Jigsaw Puzzles

    Three different puzzles laid out in pieces on a table.

    When you find a calendar you really love, like the annual NOAA Marine Debris Calendar, it can be hard to take it down when the year is over - Especially when the artwork was created by inspiring and thoughtful students from across the country!

    Marine Debris Mural

    A mural made of repurposed bottle caps.
    Help spread the message about marine debris prevention and beautify your school at the same time by getting your students involved in some marine debris art!

    Beeswax Wrap to Keep Lunchtime Free of Debris

    Finished beeswax wrap hanging up to dry.
    Repurpose your old t-shirts and reduce waste at mealtimes with upcycled beeswax wraps.

    Trashy Tinsel: Upcycled Holiday Decor

    The finished tinsel across a door.
    With this easy craft, you can give a new life to non-recyclable bags and make it a part of your holiday decorations.

    Crafty Caterpillars and Brilliant Butterflies

    The completed butterflies.
    Celebrate spring with your students by creating these colorful critters out of repurposed cardboard rolls. They'll make great props for read-alongs, life cycle lessons, or rainy day crafting!

    Egg Carton Flowers

    An egg carton has been cut and painted into flowers.
    Turn an egg carton into a beautiful bouquet of flowers with this quick and easy craft.

    Egg Carton Ecosystem

    A pond made of blue construction paper with recycled-egg-carton frogs and turtles.
    Prevent marine debris from impacting wildlife by creating an ecosystem out of repurposed egg cartons! This fun craft is appropriate for all ages, but will be especially engaging for younger students.

    Bottle Piggy Bank

    A piggy bank made from a plastic bottle.
    For a fun and very simple class craft, here's some easy instructions for turning a plastic bottle into a piggy bank. Let it be a reminder to save both some money and our planet!

    From Trash to Terrarium

    A box full of plastic bottles.
    Use plastic bottles to make greenhouses for all of your plants and seeds.

    Crayon Craziness (Crayons & Candles)

    A pile of broken crayons.
    To keep broken crayon pieces from filling up landfills (or ending up as schoolyard litter), try upcycling them into candles or tie-die crayons to give them a whole new life.

    Let's Hit the Beach! (Beach Toys)

    A coffee cup found on the remote northwestern Hawaiian islands.
    Displays of bright plastic toys can be awfully tempting, but you can have just as much fun with toys from repurposed materials. Dive into this craft to put together your own set of upcycled beach toys!

    Jellyfish Jars

    A drawing of a large, white plastic bag swallowing a fish, which is swallowing a smaller fish, which is swallowing a tiny fish.
    Put some of your old plastic bags to use and help students see firsthand why sea turtles and other animals often mistake plastic single-use bags in the ocean for food.

    Plastic Bottle Bird Feeders

    A grey bird perched on a bird feeder made from a repurposed bottle.
    Make an outdoor space near you into a bustling, zero-waste bird cafe! Using a repurposed bottle and craft materials, along with your favorite bird seed, you can bring your flocks home to roost.

    Creative and Colorful Corals

    The completed coral reef!
    Check out resources to help students learn about reefs, and then create your own coral reef with upcycled materials!

    SEAson's Greetings! (Holiday Cards)

    A greeting card made of upcycled egg cartons.
    Check out this project for how to use egg cartons to make creative and fun holiday cards.

    Shop Waste-Free with Reusable T-Shirt Bags

    A repurposed t shirt and pair of scissors.
    Did you know you can repurpose old t-shirts into sustainable items? Grab your scissors and an old t-shirt, there are only a few steps to a new reusable bag!

    Back to School Organization

    Three decorative writing utensil holders made out of recycled plastic bottles.
    These activities can keep your materials organized, get students engaged in a fun craft, and repurpose hard-to-recycle plastic bottles.

For citation purposes, unless otherwise noted, this article was authored by the NOAA Marine Debris Program.

Last updated Fri, 07/26/2024 - 02:57 pm EDT