How to make an Egyptian mummy and case Part 2

With the help of the amazing Usborne book Egyptian things to make and do by Emily Bone, here's Part 2 of our make an Ancient Egyptian mummy and case.

This page shows you how to make a mummy case.

A list of all the materials you'll need as well as how to make a mummy are in
Part 1 How to make a mummy



Unless otherwise stated all pictures © Rachel Hayward

Part 2 How to make a mummy case

1. Draw a shape for the base of the mummy case on thin cardboard.

(We used a ruler and drew a box shape around the mummy first).

2. Use a cup to draw around for the rounded head shape of the head end of the coffin case.

Now's the time to make sure a grown-up is on hand 'cos you are going to use scissors for the next bit...

3. Cut the base out and lay it on another piece of cardboard which will be the lid.

Draw around it and then draw a thin border around that (see lid in photo on the right).

Can you see in the photo how the shape for the lid is a bit bigger than the base shape?

4. You're now going to make the strips - or coffin sides that go around the lid and base of the coffin case. Then you can fit the two together like a box - see photo.

Cut a long strip of cardboard (the width of a ruler is good) for the side of the base, then cut a slightly thinner strip for the lid (see below).

5. Now make flaps or tabs (see right) by cutting slits along one edge of each strip. This is so you can bend these tabs over and stick them to the base.

Fold over all the flaps on both strips.

Ask for help now 'cos the next bit are fiddly. Hold the wider strip against the base and fold the flaps over it. Tape the first few flaps onto the base.

6. Bend the strip all the way around the base, securing the flaps with tape.

Trim off any extra cardboard, then tape around the corner where the ends of the strip meet.

In the photo you can see the taping of the tabs all done.

7. Follow steps 3 - 4 to attach the thinner strip to the lid in the same way.

8. Roll some tissue paper into a ball, then press it down to flatten it slightly. Tape it onto the lid for a head (see photo on the right).

9. Roll some more tissue paper into a longer sausage shape for the body and the feet (see photo).

Tape it onto the lid like you can see in the photo.

10. Rip up pieces of gold tissue paper. Brush white glue on part of the lid and press on the paper.

Continue to brush on glue and press on paper until the whole case is covered.

Do the same for the base.

11. When the glue is dry (and this might take hours or even overnight), use a black felt-tip pen with permanent ink to draw a face and beard.

Draw a shape for a headdress and fill it in with black paint. Draw the rest of your mummy.

Below are some real Ancient Egyptian coffins to give you ideas how to decorate your mummy case.

Nesperennub's wooden coffin at the British Museum has some lovely decoration on it.

Or how about a coffin lid at Egypt centre, University of Wales Swansea?

Find some more ideas online at National Museums Scotland.

Image courtesy British Museum

12. Finally, decorate the lid using your colour paints. When the paint is dry, use your gold pen to add stripes on the headdress.

Then, use the black pen to draw hieroglyphs (Ancient Egyptian style of writing) on the case.

Check out hieroglyphs on the Metropolitan Museum of New York's website.

Usborne have kindly given us 5 copies of Egyptian things to make and do as prizes to kids who send in photos of their own fantastic Ancient Egyptian make and dos such as the mummy and mummy case.

Click on this link for full competition rules.

So get creative and then get in touch!

We can't wait to see what you make and who knows, you might be a lucky winner of one of the books. Don't forget to include your full name, age and address details!

For more Egyptian fun, try Show Me's Ancient Civilisations topic page.