Here are the basic materials and methods we used to construct our tabernacle model. I wasn’t able to find any free instructions on-line. I have a friend who told me that they had made one last year and had used the lid of a copy paper box and old-fashioned clothespins. We started with that as our idea and went from there.
Materials:
Lid to a copy paper box
60 old fashioned clothespins
Fabric scraps in off-white, blue, purple, and red
Paper lunch bag
Craft sticks (regular and mini)
Gold paint
Bronze paint
Tacky glue
Gold pipe cleaner
Assorted wood pieces for the tabernacle furnishings
Small box with lid for Ark of the Covenant
We purchased all the wood pieces from A.C. Moore. I’m sure we could have come up with some less expensive materials. Many of the things came in packages with several so at least we do have leftover pieces for later creative projects.
Assembly:
Altar: 1-3/4 in wood cube painted with bronze paint
Laver: I honestly don’t know what it is. We found it at A.C. Moore. We painted it bronze, and then blue on top to represent water.
Table of showbread: 1 cm cube with a mini wooden sign glued on and painted gold.
Altar of incense: 1 cm cube with a wooden wheel glued on top and painted gold.
Lampstand: Cut a gold pipe cleaner into 4 pieces. Wrapped 3 of the pieces around one straight piece in the center. Stuck gold beads on 7 ends of pipe cleaner. Stuck in wooden wheel (painted gold) for a stand.
Ark of the Covenent: Painted a small lidded box gold. Inside are 2 wooden tablets painted gray (could make out of clay), a Tinker toy end piece for the jar of manna, and a small twig from the yard for Aaron’s rod.
Tabernacle: We constructed a frame from craft sticks. We glued a mini stick at the top between 2 regular sticks which were at an angle. We made 4 of those, then attached them together by gluing mini craft sticks along the top. I should have taken pictures of the process.
We spent about a week on the project but not a lot of time on it each day. We spent most of the time painting pieces (especially the 60 clothespins!). It was kind of a pain to clean it up and drag it back out, but it was definitely worth it. I had really hoped that TOG would help me to spark an interest in history in my children. So far it hasn’t disappointed!
By Kristen H.
Love this idea! Thanks for sharing it.
That looks like so much fun! The laver looks like some kind of wooden knob/turning. We're getting ready to study the tabernacle next month. I may have to come back here for some craft ideas. 🙂
Thanks for sharing!
I meant to sign in before I posted that last comment. You did a great job! 🙂