Making a Salt Dough Map at Home
Making maps out of salt dough is a lot of fun and easy to do. Children make them in school, but it is also a fun project you can make together at home. They are a good visual aid for students to learn about the geography of different countries. If you are studying about Italy, make a map of Italy. You can also make a map of Africa or South America, and any other place in the world. And, kids love helping to make the dough, too!
Instructions
Make Your Map
1. Obtain a sturdy surface to put your map on. A large pizza box works really well. They are easy to get. Most pizza parlors will give you one for free if you ask.
2. Make a copy of the map that you want to create. You can either print a black line copy of a map from the Internet (see Resources below), or you can copy a real map with a copy machine. Make sure your map is at least 11-inches-by-17-inches in size.
3. Turn the map over so the back of the paper is facing towards you. Use a lead pencil to color all over the back of the map. This will make it easier to get the design on the pizza box.
4. Lightly tape the map (pencil colored side down) onto the inside of the pizza box. Trace the outline of the map onto the pizza box, bearing down hard. The lead from your coloring should transfer onto the pizza box, creating the outline that you need. Trace over the pencil lines with the permanent marker so you can see it easily.
5. Spray paint the inside of the pizza box for a great effect. If the country you are making the map of is surrounded by ocean, spray it blue. If the country is landlocked, use a very light brown or green spray paint. Spray it very lightly so the outline of the map will still show through. This step is optional.
Make Your Salt Dough
6. Mix equal parts of flour and salt into a bowl. You will want to use three to four cups of both salt and flour for an average size map.
7. Mix enough water into the flour and salt mixture until you get a consistency like Play-Doh. Gradually add the water in so you do not make the mistake of making the dough too sticky.
8. Place the dough on the pizza box to fill in the map. You can add valleys and mountains using a topographical map as a guide. It is a lot of fun shaping building up the map into the different shapes. You can also consider adding some pieces to your map like a volcano or erections of famous buildings. Be creative.
9. Put your finished map in the sun for several hours to dry. If it is too cold outside, you can put it in the oven at 200 degrees Farenheit. Be sure to watch carefully if using the oven. You want the dough to be hard enough so that when you press on it you won't leave a mark.
10. Paint your map different colors to show different points of interest. Let the map dry completely.
Tags: Salt Dough, flour salt, inside pizza, Make Your, onto pizza, over back
