Pokemon Terrariums

Type: Active
Age: High school
Optimal size: 6-10
Estimated cost: $51 - $100
Planning time: 2-5 hours
Frequency: One-time

Learning outcomes

• Innovative Thoughts
• Creativity
• Planning
• Experimentation
• Meeting People
• Teamwork

Instructions

Below you will find a list of supplies. Please note that the provided links are suggestions and you can very likely find cheaper substitutes if you shop around. The largest cost of the program is the Pokémon miniatures, though you can find cheaper ones than the ones I've listed. Be careful - you get what you pay for with the miniatures so be very careful with what you buy.

Supplies:
Pokémon Miniatures 
100 mm Plastic Ball Ornaments 
Miniature Foliage
Cardboard
Black Tape (masking or electrical)
Nail File
Wire Cutters
Hot Glue
Scissors
Black and White Adhesive Felt
Landscaping Terrain
White Spray Paint

Optional:
Fake Water
Rocks
Quartz Crystal Point Shards

Preparation:

1. Take apart ornaments and snip off ornament hangers with your wire cutters, then buff the cut spot down with a nail file.
2. Spray paint one half of the ball ornaments. These will be the bottom of your "Pokeballs."
3. Place one half of the ball ornament on a piece of cardboard and trace a circle. Cut the circle out.
4. The circle should be slightly larger than the ornament itself. Trim the edges until it fits snugly inside the white half of the ornament and can be sealed with the top clear half.
5. Place the cardboard circle on top of the terrain you purchase and trace a circle. Cut the circle out.
6. Hot glue the terrain to the cardboard circle. Rather than do this yourself, you may choose to have your participants hot glue the terrain themselves. This is especially true if you've purchased a variety of terrain.

Directions for Participants:

1. Select a Pokémon miniature and foliage
2. Plan where you will place your Pokémon and foliage
3. Poke a hole into the terrain and insert your foliage. If the foliage is loose, reinforce with hot glue. You can use a letter opener, a pair of scissors, or a pen to create the hole.
4. Once all terrain has been placed, hot glue Pokémon to the terrain.
5. Place the terrain inside the white half of the Pokeball. Seal with the clear portion. You can also hot glue the terrain to the inside of the white half to prevent it from moving around if necessary.
6. Seal the Pokeball with black tape.  Masking tape will likely crinkle along the edge, so smooth down as you go.
7. Cut a larger circle of black felt, and then a smaller circle of white felt. 
8. Stick the white felt to the top of the black felt. This is the "button" of the Pokeball.
9. Decide where the "front" of your Pokeball is, and then stick the felt button on the black tape.
If the adhesive isn't strong enough on the button, simply attach with hot glue.

Finally, you can use a ball jar cap as a display to hold your terrarium, or the lid of a jar of peanut butter. 

Evaluation

• It went extremely well. Everyone had wonderful results, and everyone wanted to do it again.
• Advance preparation worked the best, as this program would have taken far too long had the materials such as the cardboard not been cut in advance. 
• What didn’t work that well was a personal oversight regarding the cardboard circles. They were slightly too large and I told everyone that they needed to trim them down SLIGHTLY to get them to fit properly. Two people hacked theirs apart, resulting in new circles needing to be cut. Either the circles should have been cut and tested properly, or more oversight was required.
• The foliage I purchased was a bit on the large side as well. While this wasn’t a major issue, it means that you’re unlikely to see any stem or trunk from the foliage. Some of them also had to be trimmed down to fit when the ball was sealed. This is an issue that could be difficult to resolve as many of the cheap foliage options come in the form ofmultipacks that include various sizes. Of course, I’m a perfectionist and nobody actually complained about this.
  • The outcomes were simple - the teens critiquing one another and offering suggestions, working together to help one another, and have fun. Fortunately all of this happened organically. Anyone that had trouble that I could t respond immediately was assisted by other teens, while others brainstormed together on what their pokeball would look like and what they needed. Most critically, everyone enjoyed themselves.

• As a personal suggestion, I’d recommend you find a variety of terrain types. While the grass is easy to use, offering winter and desert options will give your attendants more creative space.