Tools and Materials

• 2 x 4 lumber
• Drill and screws
• Black craft paper
• Black lights
• Caged work-light fixtures
• Glow-in-the-dark bugs and paint
• Slime
• Cable ties

Mineshaft How-To

1. Make a series of archways the same height out of 2 x 4 lumber. (Ours measured 18 inches wide at the top and 6 feet tall.) Cut the vertical pieces at a 45-degree angle at the tops and bottoms to make a wide base.
2. To keep archways standing, create a spine of scrap pieces of lumber across the tops of the arches. Use screws to secure.
3. To make mineshaft walls, crumple large pieces of black craft paper, unfurl, and staple to the outer edges of the archways. Continue until there are no light leaks.
4. Install caged fluorescent black lights with black cable ties in the interior of the mineshaft.
5. Decorate with glow-in-the-dark bugs, slime, and splatters of paint to give the walls a granitelike appearance.

Resources

Black craft paper available from Pacon.com. Wood Lights available from Home Depot. Bugs fromOriental Trading. Glow-in-the-dark paint from Martha Stewart Crafts; available at Michaels.