Make a Theater and Movie Set

Make a Theater and Movie Set is part of Crabtree’s “Make-It Models” series. This book aims to provide students with both specific instructions for designing and building the components of a theater while also encouraging them to use their creativity to extend the learning in STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, and math).

The illustrations in Make a Theater and Movie Set are colourful simplified drawings that support the instructions of the text. The pages are well-laid-out, and the instructions for each project are numbered in reasonable length chunks of information. The projects, themselves, are complex. For example, making a “Movie Projector” involves positioning a magnifying glass in a shoe box and using a smart phone to project a video.

7. Set up the phone to play a video or show a photo. Turn the brightness to maximum and turn off auto-rotate so that when the phone is inside the box, the picture is upside down.
8. Measure the front of your theater, behind the curtains. Cut a piece of white card stock to fit. Attach it to the front of the theater with adhesive putty or a little tape to make a screen.
9. Dim the lights or close the curtains in the room. Set up the projector facing the screen, about 3-6 feet (1-2 m) away. It should be on a flat surface, level with the theater.
10.Take off the lid and slide the phone backward and forward until the picture focuses sharply on the screen. If it doesn’t work, try moving the projector closer or farther away, too. Once it’s working start the movie.

Fact boxes are used to highlight important or additional information. These include “What You Need”, “Tip”, “Take It Further”, and “The Science Part!”.

Unfortunately, the “Take It Further” boxes are written as further instructions. Posing questions could allow more opportunities for learning and creativity.

The final double-page spread shows “And Here is Your Finished Theater!” This final illustration includes the front of house, auditorium, stage, and dressing rooms.

My main reservation about Make a Theater and Movie Set is the complexity of the projects. The projects include a theater and stage, spotlight, curtain, set, a fly system, projector, animation, and even a trapdoor through which a toy actor can disappear in a puff of smoke. If you give this book to your Grade 4, 5, 6 students, be prepared to offer them support when needed. Their projects may not turn out exactly like the illustrations, but with help, it should be a good hands-on learning experience.