Creative Ways to Create Cardboard Box Forts

Cardboard box forts are a great way to stimulate children's imagination and teach them structure, strength, and creativity.

Creative Ways to Create Cardboard Box Forts

Cardboard box forts are a great way to have fun and stimulate your child’s imagination. What’s more? Building a cardboard box fort is a great way to teach your children structure, strength, and creativity! Here are a few fun ideas you can use next time you build a cardboard box fort.

Rocketship Fort

Show your little ones just how awesome and powerful science can be by building a cardboard rocketship fort! To get started, get a large cardboard box and cut out a rectangle about twice the height and width of your child’s body; use duct tape to secure the sides of the rectangle to make the base. Next, cut triangles out of the cardboard box and tape them to the top of the base to make the fins for the ship.

Once you have the ship assembled, invite your little astronauts to hop inside and explore! They can also help with naming and decorating the rocket before they set out on their first mission.

Submarine Fort

If your kids are fans of “Finding Nemo,” they’ll love this underwater-themed fort project. First, you’ll need a cardboard box roughly four feet wide and two feet tall; if the box is too large for your little one to fit inside, you’ll need to cut it down to size. Create the floor for the submarine by cutting a hole in the center and placing a small pillow or soft object inside it. Then, using scissors, cut two slits into the side of the box and thread string through them to fashion a door.

Help your children festoon their new vessel with foam stickers, plastic fish, and other aquatic decorations you have on hand. Encourage them to dive in and get their imaginations working by taking a closer look at what lies beneath the surface of the deep blue sea.

Photo: serezniy via 123RF

Castle Fortress

Do you have any knights or princesses in your home? If so, this castle fortress is sure to be a hit. Start by constructing the main building out of a rectangular cardboard box. You can cover it in tissue paper and apply glitter glue to add embellishments such as turrets and towers. Build walls around the fort using smaller cardboard boxes cut into rectangles; these can attach using tape or hot glue.

Construct drawbridges with wire or paper and decorate them with fun images of kings and queens, wizards and dragons, and any other mythical creatures you can imagine. Don’t forget to add a cozy bedroom for your little ruler. They can use an old pillowcase to create an enchanted sleeping chamber by hanging it from one of the castle windows. Once everything is complete, it’s story time!

Airplane Fort

Give your child’s imagination wings with a high-flying airplane hideout. You’ll need a rectangular cardboard box about two feet long and one-and-a-half feet high. For the wings, use shoeboxes or other flat boxes that you’ve cut in half and taped together at the sides.

You can also decorate the ceiling with streamers and crepe paper to create the look and feel of a plane’s cabin. Or you could build pilot seats from large boxes covered in fabric or scrap material to give your kids a realistic flying experience.

The sky’s the limit when it comes to giving kids a fun place to play indoors. Whether creating an underwater world or a spaceship mission, playing with creativity is one of the best ways to encourage imaginative play and keep your little ones entertained all year.