Ancient Egypt is one of the most popular topics for ancient world history projects. From fun crafts to lessons about the ancient Egyptian civilization, the fascinating history of this ancient civilization lends itself well to lots of activity ideas. Learn how to write using hieroglyphs, make papyrus and pyramids, and even research the best embalming methods using an apple! Have fun with these hands-on activities for kids! Read on to find the perfect activity for your class!
Art and Craft Activities
1. Learn How to Write Hieroglyphs
Teach your students to write in this ancient language with this fantastic activity. Students can work to identify the sounds in their names and then match the sounds to the corresponding hieroglyph on the free resource sheet.
Learn More: Royal Ontario Museum
2. Make Canopic Jars
This amazing art activity is a great way to recycle old ice cream cartons. Paint the outside of the tubs white or cover them in white paper and then stamp or draw on hieroglyphs. Use air-drying clay to mold heads on the lids of the jars and paint once they are completely dry.
Learn More: Activity Village
3. Create an Egyptian Amulet
Cover a cardboard tube in heavy-duty gold tape, or paint it with gold paint. Then, cut into the tube to create a spiral. Students can then add colored pieces of paper or gems to make their amulet super eye-catching!
Learn More: Hobby Craft
4. Make a Mummy
For this hands-on activity, students can use foil to create a body to mummify or you could use an old Barbie doll. Dip strips of paper towels into the water and wrap them around the foil. To finish off, paint on a coat of PVA glue and leave it to dry.
Learn More: Miami Skye
5. Draw a Pharaoh Self-Portrait
To make these Pharaoh portraits start by taking a photo of each student; side on. Once these are printed, students can cut them out and stick them onto paper before decorating them with cool geometric shapes and designs.
Learn More: Eden Folwell
6. Ancient Egyptian Dig
This sensory activity is perfect for younger learners but can be adapted for older students too. Bury some small ancient Egyptian figurines from Amazon in some sand. Then students can dig and match what they find to these free printable cards. Give students different tools to dig and dust with to make the activity even more exciting.
Learn More: Living Montessori Now
7. Make an Egyptian Cartouche
This is super simple and only requires salt dough and paint to complete! Students can mix up some salt dough and then use it to create their cartouches. After the dough has been baked, students can then paint them and add hieroglyphs.
Learn More: Activity Village
8. Make an Egyptian Death Mask
To make these impressive masks, start by placing a plastic face mask onto a piece of cardboard. Use a marker to draw the outline for the top and sides of the mask and then cut this out. Use tape to join the two and then add a cardboard tube to the chin. All that’s left to do then is paint it!
Learn More: Young Archaeologists Club
9. Create an Obelisk and Tomb
To make an obelisk, students simply need floral foam that they can cut to shape and then add hieroglyphs. For the tomb, get students to bring in a shoe box from home which they can then decorate. Students can decorate their tombs with anything from colored paper to play dough or by coloring in or printing off pictures for the walls.
Learn More: My Inspired Class
10. Paint a Stunning Egyptian Skyline
Students can paint a sunset sky using red, yellow, and orange paints. Then, they can cut a skyline of the Great Pyramids from black paper and stick this on top. They could even add some camels or trees if they wish.
Learn More: Ennis National School
11. Draw an Ancient Egyptian Style Cat
This tutorial will help students create an impressive picture of a cat drawn in an Ancient Egyptian style. Students can use pens, pencils, or crayons for this activity and can follow the step-by-step instructions in real time.
Learn More: Miss VJ’s Art Class
12. Have a Dress Up Day in Class
To celebrate the end of your Ancient Egypt, unit you could host a dress-up day for students with fun activities and games! This is a great opportunity for them to wear and use some of the amazing crafts above!
Learn More: Pinterest
STEM Activities
13. Mummify and Apple
This amazing science experiment investigates the mummification process using an apple and some basic household ingredients like baking soda and salt. Students can mummify apples in gauze using different mixtures of baking soda and salt or other ingredients they want to test.
Learn More: Our Family Code
14. Create Your Own Papyrus
Let students create their own papyrus using a kitchen roll and a water/glue mix. They can dip the paper strips into the glue mix and then layer them on top of one another. Use foil and a rolling pin to flatten them together. Once dry, it’s ready to write or draw on!
Learn More: Pinay Homeschooler
15. Construct an Ancient Egyptian House
This craft is a great project for older learners in upper elementary school. Follow the tutorial to cut cardboard shapes and glue them together using a hot glue gun to create these amazing Ancient Egyptian houses.
Learn More: Cipta Craft
16. Hold a Pyramid Building Challenge
Challenge your students to create pyramids from different materials to hide something inside. They can use Lego, sugar cubes, or a mixture of materials.
Learn More: Creekside Learning
17. Make Ancient Egyptian Bread
Let students explore the food of Ancient Egypt with this simple bread recipe. All they’ll need is whole wheat flour, honey, dates, salt, baking powder, and warm water! Once mixed, the bread bakes in the oven and is ready to be enjoyed by the whole class!
Learn More: Twinkl
18. Make a Marshmallow and Matchstick Pyramid
This is a fantastic team activity for students. See which team can create a pyramid from matchsticks and marshmallows in the fastest time! Discuss with your students the best shapes and structures they can rely on to make their pyramids sturdy!
Learn More: Let’s Go Live Science
19. Create a Cookie Map of Egypt
Make maps fun with this tasty cookie map activity. Bake large cookies with your students and then use different candies and icing to show key features of the Egyptian landscape.
Learn More: Adventure Kids
20. Do Mummy Math
This pack of geometry activities links with Mummy Math by Cindy Neuschwander and includes three days’ worth of activities. Each day has a starter activity, main lesson activity, and a plenary focused on 3-D shape learning.
Learn More: Maths Through Stories
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