Suggested Approaches

HowtoBuildaPyramidforSchool
ThreeMethods: UsingCardboard UsingSugarCubes UsingClay

DoyouhaveanassignmenttomakeamodelofanEgyptianpyramid?It'safunschoolprojectthatcan
beapproachedinavarietyofways.Readontolearnhowtomakearealisticlookingpyramidoutof
cardboard,sugarcubes,orclay.

Method1of3:UsingCardboard

1 Gatheryoursupplies.Thankstoacoatingofsandcoveredwithglue,thiscardboardpyramidlookslikea
realisticflatsidedpyramid,butit'slightweightanddoesn'ttakeverylongtoputtogether.Youprobablyhave
mostofthesuppliesonhandalready.Gatherthefollowingmaterialstomakeyourcardboardpyramid:
Alargeflattenedcardboardboxorpieceofcardboard
Aruler
Apencil
Scissors
Hotgluegunandsticks
Whiteschoolglue
Paintbrush
Sand

2 Cutoutcardboardshapes.Useyourrulerandpenciltodrawan8inch(20.3cm)squareonyourcardboard.
Nowdrawfourequilateraltriangleswith8inch(20.3cm)bases.Usethescissorstocutouttheshapes,soyou
haveasquarebaseandfourtriangularsides.
Ifyouwanttomakealargerpyramid,youcanmakea9or10inch(22.9or25.4cm)squareandtriangles
withmatchingbases.Justmakesurethebasesofthetrianglesisthesameasasideofthesquare.
Youcanuseacraftknifeinsteadofascissorsifthecardboardisstiffanddifficulttocut.

3 Gluethetrianglestothesquare.Heatupyourgluegunandputalineofgluealongthebottomofatriangle.
Lineitupwithoneedgeofthesquareandpressitlightly.Dothesamewiththeotherthreetriangles,gluingtheir
basestothesquare.[1]

4 Gluethetrianglestogether.Leanthetrianglesinsothattheirpointsmeetandcreateapyramidshape.Seal
theedgestogetherwithalineofhotglue.
5 Letthegluedrycompletely.

6 Paintthepyramidwithwhiteschoolglue.Poursomeintoadishandusethepaintbrushtopainttheentire
cardboardpyramidwithanevencoatingofglue.Don'tforgettocovertheedges,too,soyou'llbeabletohidethe
crackswithsand.

7 Sprinkleonthesand.Beforethegluedries,coverthepyramidwithsand.Trytosprinkleonanevenamountso
thattheentirepyramidisevenlycoatedinalayerofsand.

8 Letthepyramiddry.

Method2of3:UsingSugarCubes

1 Gatheryoursupplies.Thissimplepyramidlookslikeastepsidedpyramid,withindividual"stones"visible
insteadofflatsides.Itrequiresjustafewhouseholdsupplies:
Aboxofsugarcubes
Apieceofcardboard
Aruler
Apencil
Scissors
Whiteschoolglue
Paintbrush
Sand

2 Cutacardboardsquare.Useyourrulerandpenciltodrawasquareonyourcardboard.Thiswillbethebaseof
thepyramid,somakeitassmallorlargeasyou'dlike.An8inchby8inch(20.3cmby20.3cm)baseisagood
sizeforthisproject.Cutoutthesquarewhenyou'refinished.

3 Makeasugarcubesquare.Paintalayerofgluearoundtheedgeofthecardboardsquare.Positionsugar
cubesoverthegluesothatyouhaveasugarcubesquarearoundtheedgeofthecardboard.
 Youcanusewhiteicinginplaceofglueifyoudon'thaveglueonhand.Makeicingbyadding2tablespoons
(30g)waterto3cups(384g)ofconfectioners'sugarstiruntilsmooth.
Hotgluemayalsobeusedinplaceofregularschoolglue.

4 Addthesecondsteptothepyramid.Paintalayerofglueontheinnerhalfofthefirstsquareofsugarcubes.
Positionasecondrowofsugarcubesontopofthefirstrowofcubes,setslightlybacktowardtheinsideofthe
cardboardsquare.Thesecondrowofcubeswillrequirefewercubesthanthefirstrow.

5 Addtheremainingsteps.Witheachnewstep,paintalayerofglueontheinnerhalfofthesugarcubesquare
andcreateanew,smallersquarebylayeringmoresugarcubesontop.Keepaddingstepsinthismanneruntil
thesidesofthepyramidhavecometoapoint.

6 Letthegluecompletelydry.

7 Paintthepyramidwithglue.Useapaintbrushtopainttheentirepyramidwithathinlayerofglue.Becareful
nottodamagethepyramidasyougo.

8 Sprinkleitwithsand.Trytocreateanevencoatingofsandovertheentirepyramid.

9 Letthepyramiddry.

Method3of3:UsingClay

1 Gatheryoursupplies.Makingaclaypyramidallowsyoutogetcreativebymakingrealisticindentsandgrooves
inthepyramidwallstoresembleanancientEgyptianpyramid.You'llneedthefollowingsuppliesforthismethod:
Alargeballofmodelingclay(airdry)
Rollingpin
Knife
Apieceofcardboard
Aruler
 Apencil
Scissors
Paintandpaintbrush

2 Makethecardboardbase.Usetherulerandpenciltodrawasquareonyourpieceofcardboard.A6inchby6
inch(15.2by15.2cm)baseisfineforasmallerpyramid,oryoucouldmakealargerbaseifyouhaveplentyof
clay.Cutoutthesquarewhenyou'refinished.

3 Rolltheclay.Placetheclayonadry,cleansurfaceandusetherollingpintorollitoutto1/23/4inch(1.31.9
cm).

4 Measureouttheclaypyramidsides.Useyourrulerandpenciltomarkoutfourequilateraltriangleswithbases
thesamesizeasonesideofthesquare.Ifyouhavea6inch(15.2)square,eachtriangleshouldhavea6inch
(15.2cm)base.

5 Cutoutthetriangles.Useaknifetocutoutthetriangleshapesyoumarked.

6 Beveltheedges.Pressyourruleragainstthesidesofthetrianglestoslantthemslightlydownward.Thiswill
makeiteasiertopressthemtogethersothepyramidwon'tfallapart.

7 Formtheshapeofapyramid.Positiontwotrianglessothattheiredgeslineupwiththeedgesofthecardboard
square.Pressthesidesofthetriangletogether.Placeathirdtrianglealonganothersideofthesquareandpress
itagainsttheadjacenttriangle.Addthelasttriangleandpressittogetherwiththetrianglesoneitherside.

8 Createridgesinthepyramid.Usetheknifetomakemarkingsthatlooklikestoneshapesinthesidesofthe
pyramid.

9 Letthepyramiddry.Leaveitaloneforseveralhoursorovernighttogivethepyramidtimetodryandharden.

10 Paintthepyramid.Pourthepaintintoadishandusethepaintbrushtospreadanevencoatingonthe
 pyramid.Usebrownorsandcoloredpaintforbesteffect.Youcouldalsouseacoatingofgluesprinkledwithsandif
you'dprefer.

11 Letthepyramiddry.

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Tips

Workingwithglueismessysolaynewspapersdownbeforeyoustart.
Decoratetheareaaroundthebaseofthepyramidwithsand,afauxNileRiver,andother
Egyptianelements.
Slowandsteadywinstherace.Donotrushandtakeyourtime.

SourcesandCitations

1. http://everydaylife.globalpost.com/egyptianpyramidconstructionkids12830.html