SPRINT BRIEF

In this sprint, students will choose a folktale or traditional story from their culture and bring it to life by creating a shadow box.

They will explore the story’s main themes, characters, and settings, then design layered visuals using silhouettes, cutouts, and light to add depth and mood. This project combines literature, cultural heritage, and art to tell a story in three dimensions

WHAT WE ARE MAKING

WHY WE ARE MAKING IT

Making multi-layered shadow boxes that tell a folktale or traditional story

To explore literature, cultural heritage, and art while gaining hands-on making skills

Final Project Expectations

Your design will feature multiple layers and include moving parts (such as puppets)

Your prototype will feature clean cuts and be mindful of how it looks when illuminated from behind

Your shadowbox will reflect aspects of a traditional story or folk tale from your culture

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Studio Skills

Collaboration

Concept Development

Lo-Fi Prototyping

Positive Impact

Research

؜Storytelling

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Draw from this list for Studio Skills on the former page:

Refer to this diagram to understand the parts and the basic structure of the shadow box you will be creating.

؜Shadow Box Diagram

The design process will include these steps:

Create your shadowbox, get feedback, improve your shadowbox based on feedback

Explore Folk Tales

؜Sketch

Create the Image Layers

A good example of signals are "the launch of chatGPT" or "the fall of the iconic tunnel tree redwood" and good examples of drivers would be "artificial intelligence" or "climate change"

Then, identify signals (glimpses of the future we already see today) and drivers (what made the signal possible)



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؜30 min

Assemble + Illuminate

؜30 min

؜90 min

؜120 min

؜Sketch aspects of the story that you'd include in your layered shadowbox

Select a meaningful story or folktale to explore for inspiration for your shadow box.

؜Put the parts together and illuminate your shadowbox!

SPRINT STEPS

؜5

؜60 min

؜Improve your shadowbox based on feedback

؜Create Shadowbox

SPRINT MATERIALS

Cutting Mat

Cardboard

Colored Acetate

Bristol Papers (180g)

Straws

Metal Ruler

Pencil

Markers

Cutting Blade

Masking Tape

Hot Glue Gun

String

Brads

Popsicles and

Wooden skewers

Tea Candles

1st

Explore Folk Tales

Select a meaningful story or folktale to explore for inspiration for your shadow box.

Write down the core elements of the story, such as setting, main character(s), and important scenes.

؜Inspirational Projects (optional)

These are inspirational storytelling shadowboxes.

Take a moment to search online to see if you can find one that you find inspiring as well.

Share in small groups.

2nd

Sketch

You'll sketch the layers of your shadowbox.

1. You will need to choose a scene of your story to depict in your shadowbox. It can be helpful to have a printout of an illustration, if available.
2. You'll then use 4 separate pieces of paper to sketch 4 potential layers for your shadowbox (see the next slide for example). Since these layers will be tiled, consider the scale of the objects in the foreground and background. Think about which layer should have elements of the scene/ environment, and which should have the characters and props.
3. Once you're happy with your layers. Share in a small group. Give one another feedback.

Scene from the movie Blade Runner 2049

Layer 1: The foreground

؜Layer 2: Mid Ground

؜Layer 3: Story Elements (bridge)

؜Layer 4: Story Elements (vehicle)

؜Converting

Story to

Layers

3rd

Create the Image Layers

1. ؜Once you're happy with the chosen layers of your story, cut them out of A4 paper. Cardstock or Bristol (thicker paper) works best.
2. When you are making the layers, you will be building the objects out from a frame of 2 cm. All the object will have to be connected to that frame so that they will stay in the correct place when the layers are assembled vertically.

1. Test how your layers look when tiled together with these frames and make adjustments as needed.
2. Get feedback from your tablemates, Give each other ideas for how the shadowbox design could be improved.

3rd

Create the Image Layers

Now that you have your layers, you will build the Shadow box structure that will house them.

Cut 4 strips of cardboard at least 6 cm wide:

1. 2 long strips that are the length of the longest edge of your paper plus the cardboard's thickness.
2. 2 shorter strips that are the height of the shortest edge of your paper plus the cardboard's thickness.

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Assemble using hot glue.

4th

؜Create the Shadowbox

You will need to hold the tiles apart from each other in the shadow box to all the light to shine through the layers. In order to do that, you will need to build spacer frames out of cardboard. There should be two cardboard frames between each paper tile. These cardboard frames should be A4 and 2 cm running all the way around a rectangle shape.

4th

؜Create Shadowbox

4th

Assemble + Illuminate

END OF CHALLENGE!