Make a Christmas star lantern

In this fun activity, learners will use nets to make parts from card and paper, which they will assemble into a Christmas star lantern.

Get ready to unleash your imagination, enjoy the joyous spirit of Christmas, and create your own stunning star lantern that will light up your celebrations with warmth and brilliance.

Activity: Make a Christmas star lantern

This activity is one of a series of free STEM resources designed to allow learners to use Christmas themes to develop their knowledge and skills in Design & Technology, and Engineering. This resource is aimed at secondary school students and focuses on making a Christmas star lantern using folded cards and paper. Students will use nets to make the main parts of the lantern. Nets are important as they allow 3D objects to be made when folded.

This resource could be a main lesson activity to teach learners how to use templates and nets to make useable objects. Alternatively, it could be used as one of several activities within a wider scheme of learning focusing on the use of maths to understand the use of nets or the principles of structures in Engineering.

What is the history of the Christmas star?

The history of the Christmas star dates back to the biblical account of the birth of Jesus Christ. According to the Gospel of Matthew, a bright star appeared in the sky, leading the Three Wise Men, also known as the Magi, to the birthplace of Jesus in Bethlehem. This celestial phenomenon is often called the Star of Bethlehem or the Christmas Star. The star is believed to have guided the Magi and served as a sign of the miraculous event. It has since become a significant symbol of hope and guidance associated with the Christmas season.

The engineering context

Engineers use nets to make scale models of buildings, other structures, and product packaging. They use templates when making products in small quantities to save time marking out, ensure that all the products are similar, and check that components are the correct size.

Suggested learning outcomes

By the end of this activity, students will know how to use nets and templates to make the parts of a graphic product, and they will be able to fold and glue parts together to create a lantern shaped like a Christmas star.

Download the free activity sheet below!

All activity sheets and supporting resources are free to download, and all the documents are fully editable so that you can tailor them to your students and your schools’ needs.

The activity sheet includes teacher notes, guidance, helpful web links, and links (where appropriate) to the national curriculum in the four devolved UK nations; England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales.

Oh ho ho, please share your finished star lanterns with us @IETeducation! #SantaLovesSTEM