Towel Transformations – Bay Area Discovery Museum

Towel Transformations

Get creative with one of the less exciting items found around the house—towels. Use your imagination and some household supplies to turn an old towel into a creature! This activity helps children ask open-ended questions, while flexing their creative thinking skills.

Materials Required

  • Washcloth or dishtowel (solid colors are recommended)
  • Scissors
  • Pipe cleaners
  • Twist ties
  • Rubber bands
  • Aluminum foil
  • Chopsticks
  • Fabric markers

Instructions

  1. Get permission from an adult to transform old household towels for this project.
  2. Using your imagination, turn an old dishtowel into an unusual creature. Use supplies (like markers, pipe cleaners, twist ties, etc.) to help make the transformation.
  3. Make the creature a super-creature by picking a secret power for it.
  4. Give your creature a funny name. Imagine three words to best describe the personality of the creature.

Additional Tips

Try these add-on activities:

  • Write short bios for each creation, noting each creature’s name, special power, and essential characteristics. Put creatures on display, like an art gallery, with their bios posted. Crackers and sparkling juice can be served while guests toast to imagination and originality!
  • In a group, perform a skit using the towel creatures.

Links to Creativity

Gradual increases in constraints are helpful in developing creativity. In other words, working with common household materials and asking open-ended questions are optimal creativity challenges since they are neither too challenging nor discouraging. While buying elaborate toys can elicit grand ideas, ordinary household objects are not only more accessible, but also provide opportunities to exchange their everyday (and possibly boring) uses for more creative ones.

Supporting research includes:

Runco, M. A. (2014). Creativity: Theories and themes: Research, development, and practice (2nd ed.). San Diego, CA: Elsevier.

Contributor

This activity was contributed by the Center for Childhood Creativity at the Bay Area Discovery Museum. For more information and resources see CenterforChildhoodCreativity.org.

©2014 Bay Area Discovery Museum.

Towel Transformations

Get creative with one of the less exciting items found around the house—towels. Use your imagination and some household supplies to turn an old towel into a creature! This activity helps children ask open-ended questions, while flexing their creative thinking skills.

  • Washcloth or dishtowel (solid colors are recommended)
  • Scissors
  • Pipe cleaners
  • Twist ties
  • Rubber bands
  • Aluminum foil
  • Chopsticks
  • Fabric markers
  1. Get permission from an adult to transform old household towels for this project.
  2. Using your imagination, turn an old dishtowel into an unusual creature. Use supplies (like markers, pipe cleaners, twist ties, etc.) to help make the transformation.
  3. Make the creature a super-creature by picking a secret power for it.
  4. Give your creature a funny name. Imagine three words to best describe the personality of the creature.

Try these add-on activities:

  • Write short bios for each creation, noting each creature’s name, special power, and essential characteristics. Put creatures on display, like an art gallery, with their bios posted. Crackers and sparkling juice can be served while guests toast to imagination and originality!
  • In a group, perform a skit using the towel creatures.
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