What Are Masks For? - Brooklyn Children's Museum

ACTIVITY 3
Make a Mask from Found Materials
Grades 2–5
Related Objects: All
This lesson offers students the opportunity to explore the
many different materials used to make the masks in the
case. After observing the masks closely, students will
learn that people all over the world make masks from the
diverse materials found in their environments. Students
will design and create a mask using craft materials and
other small objects found in their environment.
Materials:
• Craft materials (such as construction paper, yarn, pipe
cleaners, glitter, or pasta)
• Natural materials (such as pebbles, shells, leaves, twigs,
or feathers)
• Found objects (such as buttons, small coins, stickers,
erasers, images cut from magazines, or anything else
students find at home or at school)
• Colored tag board
• Crayons and markers
• Scissors
• Glue
• String and stapler
What To Do:
1 (Optional) You may wish to prepare for this activity in
advance by asking your students to bring small “found
objects” from home to use in creating their masks.
2 Divide your class into five groups. Give each group
one mask from the case. Ask your students to observe
the mask closely to determine what materials it is
made from.
3 Have each group report its findings to the rest of the
class. Record the different materials they have
observed on the blackboard or chart paper.
4 Ask your students to brainstorm other materials
people might use to make masks, and record their
answers on the blackboard or chart paper. Encourage
students to think of materials used to create masks
they have seen in real life, in books, on the Internet,
or in the “Masks of Many Cultures” video. Some
examples might include clay, metal, or papier-mâché.
5 Give each student a piece of tag board. Have students
cut an imaginative mask shape and cut holes for them
to see through. Distribute the "found" and craft
materials and have the students select and layout the
materials. Encourage them to exercise their imaginations
and use their materials in unusual ways.
6 When they are satisfied with their designs, have them
glue the materials to their masks. When the glue is
dry, staple short lengths of string to each side of the
face to create tie strings.
7 After their masks are complete, have each student
write a paragraph describing the materials they used
to make their masks, and why they chose them (see
Discussion Questions below).
Discussion Questions:
• How did you choose a design for your mask? Does it
have any special meaning or particular purpose?
• What materials did you use to create your mask? If
you used “found” materials, where did you find them?
See page 16 for details on how this activity meets
New York State Learning Standards.
GEOGRAPHY
EXTENSIONS:
ALL GRADES
Copy the information pages and cut out images of the masks in the case. Share
information about these objects with your students. Look at the places each mask
comes from on a globe or world map, and have students tape each image to the
country or region it comes from. Older students may do library or Internet research
to find out more about what kinds of materials are used to make masks in each
of those countries.
MASKS 10