Rediscover Center
Create a Calavera Mask

Create a Calavera Mask

Activity Guide. October 2024.

Rediscover thanks Alex Wilensky, María José Urrestarazu, and Hannah Dahl for their contributions to our curriculum library, including this project!

In this activity, you will create a calavera mask. This activity guide is inspired by the picture book Just A Minute: A Trickster Tale and Counting Book, written and illustrated by Yuyi Morales. In this story, Señor Calavera visits Grandma Beetle and tells her that she needs to come with him, but Grandma Beetle is very busy preparing for her birthday party with her grandchildren. By saying “Just a minute”, Grandma Beetle delays her trip with Señor Calavera, showing the readers the elements of Mexican culture included in birthday celebrations.

Let’s discuss for a moment… 

  • In the story, Grandma Beetle is preparing to celebrate her birthday. How do you celebrate birthdays? Have you been to a friend’s birthday where they celebrated differently than you?
  • What festivities do you celebrate and how do you celebrate them? (Christmas, Hanukkah, St Patrick’s Day, etc.)
  • What do you think Señor Calavera represents?

About Calaveras and Día de los Muertos

In the story, Señor Calavera, who represents Death, visits Grandma Beetle’s party. In Latin American cultures, death is not feared. Día de los Muertos is an important holiday celebrating our loved ones and their legacy. It is an occasion to celebrate the lives of those who were important to us and are no longer present, by creating altars with the loved ones’ favorite dishes, special objects, and making sugar skulls. 

If you want to see an example of this tradition, check out these informative videos! 

Have you celebrated Día de los Muertos with your family or at school? Does your family do anything special to remember their loved ones?

This activity can be done at any time during the year, but Día de los Muertos is on  November 1st and 2nd.

STEP 1 - Design your Calavera

Sketch a calavera design, starting by drawing a skull to represent your face. Consider the following questions as you create a sketch.

  • What designs would you incorporate into your mask? Most Calavera masks are decorated with floral drawings and other organic patterns.
  • What colors would you use?
  • Any particular feelings/emotions that you want to express with your mask? Are there any special symbols/motifs that you want to include? It can be something that reminds you of your family or friends, maybe something that reminds you of your pet.

STEP 2 - Gather your Materials

After planning out you Calavera, gather your materials. We recommend the list below:

Tools

  • Canary cutter or Scissors
    • Depending on the thickness of your piece of cardboard.
  • Screwdriver
  • Tape/glue stick
  • Pencil
  • Colored Markers

Many of these tools can be found in our Tinkering Toolkit.

Materials

  • Paperboard (i.e. cereal box) or cardstock, about the size of your face.
    • *Optional: 1 or 2 sheets of white paper. If your piece of cardboard has colors or designs on it, you can use white paper to cover the design.
  • Accessories: Found and recyclable items to decorate, such as gem stickers, yarn, bright colored markers, beads, aluminum foil, confetti, etc.

STEP 3 - Design your Calavera

Draw a Calavera shape on your paper, including eyes, nose, and teeth. For this model, a template from pinimg.comwas used as reference.  Go over the pencil lines of the Calavera with a dark-colored marker, crayon, or colored pencil. Draw your designs with a marker. Then, cut around the shape with scissors.

Put your Calavera over the paperboard and trace its shape. Cut the Calavera out and glue them together.

**PRO-TIP: If you draw your design directly onto the paperboard or cardstock, you can skip this step. Cut your design directly out of your material.

STEP 3 - Cut out the eyes and nose

Using the screwdriver or a sharp pencil, make holes through the paper and cardboard on the eyes and nose spaces. To use a screwdriver to create holes safely, watch Tiny Techniques - How to Make a Hole with Screwdriver. A simple technique to cut out the eyes is to make a line of holes along the cut line to assist in cutting out the circle.

Cut around the eyes and nose spaces with the canary cutter and a pair of scissors. Be careful not to cut your drawn designs.

STEP 4 - COLOR

If you haven't already, color the designs drew using colored markers (highlighters are also acceptable). Glue/tack on other craft materials that would pair well with your Calavera, such as gemstones, buttons, stickers, etc.

When you finish, think back to your project:

  • What do you like about it?
  • Did the result match your expectations?
  • What would you have done differently?

ADULT HELPERS

For any tips on how to use specific tools safely, visit our YouTube library for Tiny Techniques.

RESOURCES

Visit the Techniques tab in reDiscover Center's Pedagogy Resources to access our Tiny Techniques videos and get tips for working safely and efficiently with tools.Once you have finished your mask and emblem, share your superpowers with the world! Show them to your friends, telling them about how you made them from recycled materials.  When you use scraps and recycled materials, it means no new plastics or materials were taken from natural resources. Great job! If you want to share a picture on social media, be sure to tag @RediscoverCtr. We'd love to see what you made!

Activity Guide by María José Urrestarazu. Edited by Hanabee Cartagena.

Category : Activity Guide
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