Use the following instructions and images to create salmon hats with your kids at home or at school. Not a hat person? Alter the project to fit your needs, whether it be for an assignment, a class project, or just for fun! Suggested alternate activities are included.
Supplies:
Download JPG Salmon Prints (Compressed .ZIP Folder containing 8 .JPG files, one right and left side for each salmon)
Tabloid Paper (poster-size and preferably cardstock)
Large Printer (large enough to print on tabloid)
Scissors
Hot Glue Gun & Glue
A surface for your hot glue gun to sit on (since they tend to ooze out glue when you set them down)
Markers, Crayons or Paint Stamps & Ink Pads (optional)
Stapler or Tape
Instructions:
Print out salmon from Olympic National Park’s website. Choose from Chinook, Coho, Pink and Sockeye. Make sure to print both sides on separate pages!
Cut out salmon outlines.
Heat up your hot glue gun.
Lay both sides together with the wrong sides touching.
Lift the face of the top side and glue from the mouth to the gills of the side laying on your work surface.
Press the sides together.
Let the children color, paint or stamp on their hats.
Place the hat around the child’s head like a band and staple the tail of the salmon hat as close to the child’s head as possible.
Ask them to shake their heads to see if it is tight enough and watch their tails flip back and forth!
Alterations:
Pet Salmon*: Instead of turning your double-sided fish into a hat, after step 7, staple the sides of your fish leaving a small opening. Stuff scrap paper or stuffing into the salmon and staple the opening shut. Voilà: Stuffed Salmon!
Salmon Mobiles*: Turn your children’s projects into home or classroom décor o String them together as a school of fish or a banner. o Dangle them from the ceiling with paperclips, tape and string.
Ecosystem Mural*: Have your children draw a salmon’s ecosystem. Draw and color the habitats (river, forest, ocean) and organisms (bears, bugs, birds, seals), cut them out and tape them together to create one large mural.Coloring Pages: Print the salmon on letter (standard-size) paper for your children to color and frame.
