Spooky, scary, paper models

Gary Tyler, outreach specialist at Crisp Museum, organized a hands-on Halloween Paper Model event for the public Oct. 10. The event allowed participants to create a festive paper model to kick off the spooky season.

With the help of preprinted color copies and certain tools, people created 3D haunted lighthouses, five different coffin pop-ups, a haunted house, a printed paper puzzle and other festive pieces.

Tyler said the inspiration for the event came from the fun of Halloween and his enjoyment of creating paper models during the pandemic to pass the time.

“We try to bring people to our museum to have fun as a family as well as for college students to have free activity entertainment,” Tyler said.

Many of the paper models can take several hours to complete, depending on the skill level selected. The coffins and puzzles can take up to one hour, while making some of the Halloween buildings can take three hours.

After following the directions for each step, participants were able to cut out the card stock paper sections with their scissors and begin folding the labeled lines with a ruler and toothpick, to carefully bend the lines correctly. Using small pieces of tape helped hold the paper tabs in place to give the three-dimensional look. Some pieces were smaller than others to cut, so carefully gliding along the lines with the scissors helped.

The designs came with other accessories to add to the creation to bring in the spooky feel of Halloween to each piece.

Tyler enjoys making the pop-up paper models and has made 20 to 25 models on his own. He has found no limit of paper models that he can create.

“I created the Bates Motel before; that took up to five days to create,” Tyler said.

Katie Turnbough, a junior transfer student, said this was her first time at a Crisp Museum event.

“I think it is an interesting, different way to do something that is not studying or something stressful,” Turnbough said.

After the creation of the paper model, individuals were able to take their designs with them as an added Hallween decoration for their homes.

For next month, the Crisp Museum will hold an “Escape the Museum” event. This will be a murder mystery-themed escape room for the public. To register for the event, visit the Crisp Museum website.