Basketball Game!

Create your own basketball court! This craft is fun for the whole family!

SUBMITTED BY: Marigold Library System

PROGRAM CATEGORY: Craft, activity

AGE GROUP: This program is suitable for 6+ with parental assistance on some of the cuts. 

TIME REQUIRED: 15 – 30 minutes per basketball net.

SPACE CONSIDERATIONS: A table to work on.

MATERIALS REQUIRED: 

  • Cardboard
  • Paperboard
  • Two plastic cups* (Ideally clear)
  • 14 straws*
  • Red and black sharpie
  • Glue or tape – a hot glue gun works well IF you are comfortable with one
  • Scissors
  • Ping pong ball

*Half the supplies are needed if you only want one basketball net

INSTRUCTIONS: 

  1. Tape seven straws together in a tightly packed cylinder and make sure that they are level on one end.

    images/basketball/Basketball Program Step 1.jpg
  2. Create the backboard. To do this, cut a piece of paperboard into a small rectangle that is at least three inches tall and around six inches wide. Wrap this in white paper and tape the paper to the paperboard.
  3. Cut your plastic cup in half, then color the rim red or orange. To create the net, use a black sharpie and draw in a crisscross pattern.
  4. Tape or glue the plastic cup’s rim to the lower portion of the back board. If the plastic cup is not sitting at a 90-degree angle with the backboard, add some paperboard between the cup and backboard below the rim. This should hold the cup at a 90-degree angle. 

    images/basketball/Basketball Program Step 2.jpg
  5. Draw a square over the net on the backboard. You can get creative and decorate the backboard however you like.
  6. Tape or glue the backboard to the top inch of the straws. Avoid taping the backboard to the level end of the straw pole. If you use glue, make sure it dries before you continue. 
  7. Tape or glue the bottom end of the straws to a piece of cardboard that is six by six inches. If you only want one basketball net, you can finish here.

    images/basketball/Basketball Program Step 3.jpg
  8. Repeat the above steps for a second net.
  9. Tape both finished basketball nets on opposite sides of a large piece of cardboard and decorate it to look like a basketball court.

BOOK/MEDIA TIE-IN:

  • Dino Basketball – Lisa Wheeler
  • Salt in His Shoes: Michael Jordan in Pursuit of a Dream – Jordan Deloris
  • Jimmy's Boa and the Bungee Jump Slam Dunk – Trinka Hakes Noble