Where Do Bike Tires Start?

Where Do Bike Tires Start? craft

Where do your bike tires start? Create a realistic scene to show how rubber tappers in Brazil gather latex in huge rain forests.

  • 1.

    Discover latex! In the late 1800s, Brazilians discovered how to extract sap (latex) from rubber trees by cutting the bark. The latex is thickened by passing it through smoke and creating a ball of rubber. It can also be thickened by mixing it with the sap of the ofé tree and pressing it into a wooden box to create a rubber block. Find out more about this fascinating process. Then create a triarama to show how trees are tapped—the first step toward making your bike tires.

  • 2.

    Cut your triarama. With Crayola® Scissors, cut a recycled file folder into a square. Fold it in half, point to point. Open and fold it in half the other way, point to point. Cut one of these folds to the center of your square. One of the sections along the cut edge will be the floor of your triarama. The other will fold beneath it.

  • 3.

    Grow a rainforest. Color a rain forest background and floor with Crayola Twistables. Most rainforests are dense with green plants and drip with rain. Overlap the two bottom flaps. With Crayola School Glue, glue them together. Air-dry the triarama.

  • 4.

    Use Crayola Model Magic to shape rubber trees, a cup, a large bowl, a rubber block, and ball. To color the Model Magic, rub in color from a Crayola Washable Marker and knead. Make realistic-looking slashes in the sides of your trees with a craft stick.

  • 5.

    Use toothpicks for the legs of the bowl and the rod holding the rubber ball. Glue all pieces into place. Air-dry before displaying.