Written by Laura Langebartels
What happens when you need a purely fun & creative project + the school you work for is hosting a Trunk or Treat? Yup, that's right - you round up all the action figures in the house and create a Marvel-themed trunk!
After a busy work season where life felt like "all work and no play", we decided to throw our efforts for a few days into creating a fun trunk for our school's annual trunk or treat.
The result was an interactive Marvel-themed trunk. Over 400 kids stopped at our trunk where they got to throw a Captain America shield into a target and win a superhero sticker. The trunk scene included a 3-D cityscape where the superheroes battled... someone (we did not actually include a villain in our scene).
It was a hit! Especially with the younger boys. Seeing their eyes light up as they took in all the details was simply the best and made all the effort worth it!
Personally, the best part was including our twin 8-year-olds in the creation process. They learned some new maker skills along the way!
Here's how we did it!
Purchase Marvel Costumes
We used Walmart and Amazon for some inexpensive Marvel costumes. Easy enough.
Make Captain America Shield
Sure, we could have just purchased a shield online, but they were too pricey for our taste. So we took the lid of a metal trash can, and used spray paint to created the colored rings. This was done in layers, covering the portions we did not want to receive that particular color with paper and painters tape. I then used my Cricut to make a star on removable white vinyl. Grant attached some straps to the back, and tada - shield!
Build the Cityscape
Grant took a piece of plywood, measured our trunk space, and cut it to the needed dimensions. He then drew the outline of a city skyline on the plywood. With a jigsaw, he carefully cut the outline. Colt then did some sanding to make it smooth. Two coats of black spray paint later and it was ready.
A piece of plywood was placed in the trunk first to serve as the connection base and eventually our road. The city outline piece was then attached to the base, which was also painted black.
We wanted the Avengers Tower to stand out, so I taped the outline in painter's tape and then used a metallic Sharpie to showcase it's iconic design. The Cricut was used again to make the Avengers logo on vinyl to give it that official touch. We finished the scene by painting white lines for the road and a little bit of yellow duct tape.
We hung a gray sheet behind it all, and added some twinkle lights for stars. I realized once the sun went down the cityscape would be harder to see, so we put flashlights between the cityscape and the sheet to give it a back glow and keep it visible.
Build 3D Skyscraper
This one was simple and fun. I took three boxes of progressive sizes, wrapped them in cheap plastic tablecloths (because I could not find black wrapping paper). Then I cut strips of yellow duct tape for the windows and freehanded them on. I sort of liked that they were not perfect as it gave it more of a cartoon feel. The final touches included poking an arrow in the top to look like an antenna and then cutting a hole in the side for Hulk to smash through.
Build a Game
The best trunks I've seen are the ones with an interactive element, so I was determined to have a simple game at ours. Grant was undoubtedly the star of our trunk as he is the School Resource Officer at their school and the one they would all know. So I decided to give the kids a chance to be like Captain America, too.
First, I took the metal trash can and wrapped it in a plastic Marvel tablecloth from the Dollar Store. I then put some pillows and padding in it to soften the sound of frisbees being thrown into it.
Next, I took two super old frisbees and spray painted them in a similar method to the shield for the blue and red, but opted for freehanding the white. The Cricut once again provided vinyl stars for the middle.
The game was easy yet fun, and gave Grant more of a chance to interact with the kids.
Final Touches
The little touches were perhaps my favorite part. Spider-Man hung from the seatbelt and sprayed webs to the other side. Ironman flew in the sky thanks to some fishing line. Hulk did his smash thing, while Captain America and Star-Lord stood ready for action. Black Panther even began the evening saving Barbie, but she would not stay in his arms throughout the windy night.
The night was a constant flow of visitors! Admittedly, Ironman and Captain Marvel ditched us for a good majority of the night to hang out with their friends and collect candy from the other trunks, no one really seemed to know I was Blackwidow, and Hulk was constantly running away. But overall, it was super fun and a great chance for us to connect with the community we work in and do life with.
What is your favorite feature of our trunk?
0%Cityscape
0%3D Skyscraper
0%Captain America Shield Toss
0%The ADORABLE Hulk
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