Let's make leaf rubbings

Difficulty: Easy

Here at the museum we love collecting leaves of all colours, shapes and sizes as they fall to the ground. Today we're sharing a fun way to turn them into something creative: leaf rubbings and a stop-motion animation!

Make a leaf rubbing

1. Collect some leaves from around your garden or neighbourhood. You may like to take a walk (with an adult) to a park or nearby river or lake. Here, you will be able to find all types of leaves and be inspired by your local environment.
2. You'll need a clean surface, your dried leaves, crayons in colours of your choice and some thin paper - printer paper is perfect.
3. Take a leaf and place it on your surface. Lay the paper over the top, placing it where you would like the leaf to show on the paper.
4. Holding the paper in place with one hand, grab your crayon and lay it on its side. Push firmly and roll the crayon over the leaf, shading a nice broad stroke. The texture and shape of the leaf will show through in crayon!

Make a stop motion animation

1. Once you've completed a few leaf rubbings, you might like to turn them into a river scene inspired by your walk. You'll need a phone or tablet with a camera, and permission from an adult to download a stop motion animation app. You can find many free stop motion animation apps on your phone's app store.
2. Use your leaf rubbings (and perhaps some other crayon drawings too!) to build a scene inspired by your river walk. For more inspiration you can watch Simone's example of a fish jumping out of the river.
3. When you've decided on your river scene, move your rubbings piece by piece, taking a photo with the stop motion animation app each time. The more photos you take, the longer your animation will be!