Tissue Box Traffic Light Craft

Give the kids the green light to have some fun!

Submitted by
Kayla Chong

The black inventor Garrett Augustus Morgan (1877-1963) is probably most famous for inventing the modern-day traffic light. (Now you know who to thank next time you're stuck at a seemingly endless red light while your kid throws a screaming tantrum in the backseat.) For an easy craft to make with your kids, try this tissue-box traffic light.

Two empty, rectangular tissue boxes:
With all the colds your kid brings home, you're bound to have a couple lying around.
Red, green and yellow tissue paper or color gel sheets:
One sheet of each color.
Black construction paper
Tape
Scissors
A paper towel roll
A flashlight
A small glass, cup, jar or compass:
For tracing a nice, small circle.
Pen
White glue

If your tissue boxes aren't already empty, have your kid empty them out and put the tissues in a baggie.
Have him glue a sheet of black construction paper onto the bottom of one of the tissue boxes. Help him trim the paper to fit. He can also cover the sides and top of the box if he has the time and the patience to do so. (Heck, if he's really patient, he can cover both boxes in construction paper.)
Next, help him trace three evenly spaced 2½-inch (approximately) circles down the bottom of one of the tissue boxes, one on top of the other—like a stop light. You can use a compass or just trace the bottom of a small cup or glass.
Help him cut the circles out. This is sort of tricky. You might need an exacto knife.
Then have him tape the gel sheets or tissue paper (red on top, then yellow, then green) inside the box to cover the holes so you just see colored circles from the other side. Cut them down if need be for a good fit.
Next, help your kid cut a few 1 to 2-inch slits in the bottom of the paper towel roll to make "flaps."
Fold the flaps outward and glue them to the bottom center of the other empty tissue box. (Hot glue will be faster, but your kid can use white glue if he's really patient.)
When the glue is dry, repeat steps 6 and 7 with the other end of the paper towel roll, gluing it to the bottom (so that the traffic light is facing upright) to form a pole and base for his traffic light.
If his traffic light won't stand upright easily, you may want to weigh down the bottom tissue box with something heavy. (A couple of clean rocks from outside should do the trick.)
When he's done constructing his traffic signal, hand him a flashlight and have him hold it inside the box to illuminate the different circles to make the light turn red, yellow or green. He can even invite over some friends and play a silent (woo hoo!) version of the retro game "Red Light, Green Light" using the makeshift traffic light to "call" out the signals.