How to Project Rotating Stars on a Ceiling

Stars have fired peoples' imaginations for thousands of years. You can capture this magic indoors by creating a shell for a house lamp, which allows you to project stars onto your ceiling. By using a lamp with a bolt on top for a lampshade, you can rotate the shell and provide movement to the stars. This is a fun project to do with your kids, and they will be dazzled by the results.

Balloon
Newspaper
White glue
Water
Mixing bowl
Pin
Scissors
Drill
Black spray paint
Lamp

Instructions

- 1
  Blow up a large balloon, and tie it off.
- 2
  Tear a newspaper into 6-inch strips.
- 3
  Combine 3/4-cup of white glue and 1/4-cup of water in a mixing bowl to form papier-mâché paste.
- 4
  Dip strips of newspaper into the paste, and then smooth them onto the balloon. Leave the area around the balloon's nozzle uncovered.
- 5
  Continue adding papier-mâché strips until you have created a shell that is four layers thick.
- 6
  Allow the papier-mâché to dry.
- 7
  Pop the balloon with a pin, and then cut a hole in the bottom that is large enough to fit over the lamp.
- 8
  Drill a hole in the top of the shell large enough to easily fit it onto the lamp's bolt.
- 9
  Drill 1/16-inch holes in the upper half of the shell in whatever star patterns that you want.
- 10
  Paint the shell with black spray paint on the inside and outside. Allow the paint to dry, and then poke a pin through each hole to clear any paint clogs.
- 11
  Remove the lamp's shade, and replace it with the papier-mâché shell. Turn on the light, and spin the shell to create moving stars on the ceiling.

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