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Corrugated Cardboard Challenge

Corrugated Cardboard Challenge

Corrugated cardboard is a great and sturdy building material. What’s even better is that it’s super easy to come by--just check your recycling bins! So, here’s your challenge:

Make a stool or a chair using corrugated cardboard. Remember these tips and tricks as you begin building your furniture:

- Corrugated cardboard is strongest when the corrugate (the wavy mid-section) is vertical (or perpendicular to the floor).

- You can bend and cut corrugated cardboard. If you choose to bend it, try bending it along a table edge. This will give you a more crisp fold.

- Triangles are the strongest shape to build with because any force on them is evenly distributed among the three sides.

Here’s an example of a stool you could make using corrugated cardboard. What else can you come up with?

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Materials you'll need

Step-by-step tutorial

Warning
Be very careful and use parental supervision when playing with your cardboard creations!
Step 1
Gather your materials!

Step 2
Cut the cardboard into an 8” x 24” (20.3 x 61 cm) rectangle. Make sure that the corrugation runs parallel to the short side. If the corrugation runs parallel to the long side, your stool may collapse.

Step 3
Mark the cardboard every 8” (20.3 cm) along the long side. Then, score it with your X-acto knife.

Tip
Score means to cut the cardboard without cutting through it. It makes it easier to bend it.
Tip
Optional: Make your stool look more stool-like by adding cut outs so that the “legs” really look like legs!
Step 4
Bend the cardboard along the score lines. Then, fold it into a triangle and tape the open side closed.

Step 5
Cut a shape out of the remaining cardboard. This will be the top of your stool. The shape doesn’t matter as long as it is larger than your triangular base.