Armor produced in the Renaissance was incredibly sturdy. That’s all thanks to armor smiths: the expert craftsmen who developed these forms over hundreds of years to near-perfection!
In this activity, become an armor smith and design your own mini suit of armor using household materials.
Materials
Cardboard
Scissors
Pencil
Paper fasteners
Hole puncher
Tinfoil
Black permanent marker
Instructions
Draw up your armor design, taking inspiration from pieces in The Met Collection linked below.
Once you’ve landed on a design, draw outlines of each armor piece on cardboard: the torso, helmet, each arm, and two pieces for each leg.
Cut each piece out and wrap each in tinfoil.
Punch holes where each of the body part pieces will meet each other, and use paper fasteners to lock them in place.
Finally, decorate your knight’s armor with a black marker.
If you’d like, you can make a sword or other accessories for your knight.
Reflection
Did you encounter any issues with your design once you began putting the pieces together? If so, how did you solve the problem?
MetKids is supported by Bloomberg Philanthropies.
