I’ve been obsessing over all things mobile ever since receiving a hand made frog mobile as a baby shower gift. As a designer I was already predisposed to liking them, after all aren’t Alexander Calder’s mobiles every design snob’s dream art piece?  Of course I’d need a proper place to hang one as well, but I digress….
I can’t say that this mobile is even remotely close to a Calder but it’s a great way to combine science and design for kids in one sweet little project: a Recycled Bird Feeder Mobile. I toyed with a number of ideas for how to build this bird feeder before reminding myself that there is no perfect solution to any project, so go down one path and enjoy the exploration. This homemade bird feeder is perfect if you are looking for a kid’s craft focused on nature and recycling with a little physics thrown in for good measure!
Side note: FYI I suggest using a stick that has three branches minimum so that a bird can actually land on it and get to the birdseed. My first version was truly a balancing mobile and I saw a poor blue jay dive bombing it to knock the seed off since he couldn’t land on it!
Recycled Bird Feeder Mobile
Materials
- Small branch or sturdy twig
- Cardboard tubes, cut into strips
- Cheerios
- Light Corn Syrup
- Paintbrush
- String
- Bird Seed
- Wax Paper
- Hole Punch
- Scissors
Instructions
- Step One Punch a hole in the top and bottom of each of your cardboard tube strips.
- Step Two Pour the corn syrup, Cheerios, and birdseed into three separate bowls.
- Step Three Using a paint brush, paint the outside of a cardboard tube with corn syrup, the more the better! Alternatively you can roll the tube in the corn syrup to coat the outer surface, this is a quicker way to do it.
- Step Four Dip your sticky tube into the birdseed. If you use a Tupperware container you can put the lid on it and shake the birdseed and tube around to cover the tube. Once covered, place the tube on the wax paper to dry.
- Step Five Repeat corn syrup and birdseed steps with more tubes.
- Step Six Cut a length of string and thread a Cheerio on it. Pull string through the bottom hole of one birdseed covered tube. Thread on 5-10 Cheerios then thread the string through the upper hole. You can add more tubes onto this string or move on to another string. Repeat this until you have about 6 strings completed.
- Step Seven Now it’s time to start putting the mobile together! Cut three long strings. Tie one string around one branch and repeat with the other two strings/branches. Gather the three strings together and knot at the top. Tie a loop with the excess string. If you don’t use a loop at the top your mobile will overturn if any weight is put on it.  Hang it up in an easy to reach spot.
- Step Eight Tie your birdseed covered tube strings to the branches. Make sure they are secured tightly.Try not to dangle them too far from the branch or it will be hard for the birds to get to the seed.
- Step Nine Trim all your excess string and hang the mobile in it’s final position.
Now enjoy watching the birds flutter around it and attempt to eat birdseed off a swinging mobile….if they can’t do it, they will knock the birdseed off the tubes and eat it from the ground. Hey, sometimes design is pretty not practical!
Apparently the birds in my neighborhood are talented enough to pull off the balancing feat, see my action shots below. I’m not sure if this is a physics lesson for kids or for the birds….
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Love it! What a great idea! I’m going to try this one (one day)!!! Thank you for sharing!
Thanks Jessica! Glad you like it!
I love this! I’ve seen so many different crafts, but nothing ever like this. The design & science mix is fantastic!
Thanks so much for the feedback Heather!
What a great idea! Pinned to make later! Have a great weekend!
Blessings,
Nici
Thanks so much for stopping by Nici!
How fun!! Thanks for sharing this at Monday Funday!!
Wishing you An Extraordinary Day!
Hi Diane, I’m glad you liked this project too!
Those are adorable!
Hi Diane!
Made these today with our Toddler Art Share and our 5-9 year olds. This projects had so many great elements! Painting the syrup, sensory play in the seeds while coating the rolls, and stringing the o’s! Really fantastic and perfect for all ages 2.5+ to adult!
Thanks for the wonderful idea!
Going to make one for our house now!
I will post a photo on my website soon!
Hi Siobhan,
Yay! This comment makes my day!
Ana
So happy to see a birdfeeder that doesn’t have peanut butter in it. I have a peanut allergy in my daycare and I’ve never found one without peanut butter. Thank you!
Ana, these are gorgeous! Sharing tomorrow on the Homegrown Friends FB page.
Thanks so much Meredith!!!
We will do this tomorrow! (even if it’s still raining) What a fantastic idea! Thanks so much for sharing!
I hope they turned out well Deborah!
My nine year old daughter had a science project for school called, “Beautiful Junk”. She needed to create something useful out of recycled / reusable items. We found the perfect tree branch in our back yard and made her bird feeder mobile together, having some great mommy-daughter time. We are sure our neighboring birds and her classmates and teacher will enjoy it!
Amy so happy to hear it! Post a pic on our FB page if you can!
I love this idea and am doing with my after school class — but — worried about corn syrup as it is a processed food and birds can not digest well. Any alternative ideas? Honey? Shortening?
Thanks,
Julia
Shortening might work or peanut butter 🙂
I love this. I have 3 kids,-1 science and animal nut (6), 1 craft nut (4) , and 1bird nut (1). This satisfies everyone’s favorite things (except maybe the dog :). Thanks so much for sharing. We will definitely be working on these as soon as our weather gets a bit nicer. We are going to watch the eagles this weekend so maybe right after when they are still super excited about it.
Thanks again
Alison
theguiltymommy.com
Yay! I’m jealous you get to see eagles where you live!
Made this today! I work with adults with developmental disabilities and this project was a winner, except for stickiness from the corn syrup… but everyone loved shaking the seeds and stringing the cereal. If you click on this link and go to today’s date you will see a picture of our completed mobile. It is really big! we used different sized tubes, but everything else was by the books. Thank you for this fun project.
https://www.facebook.com/EsperanzaArtStudio
-Stephanie
Eek Stephanie! I LOVE IT! I’m sorry I missed this comment before! It turned out so well 🙂 I’m going to share it on our FB page today!
My daughter and I made this tonight for a school project. She had to make a mobile made with recycled items – and I think this is perfect! We had everything needed to make it and found a good branch in the backyard. The hanger is only to make it easier for her to take it to school in the morning and for her teacher to hang it in the classroom. We’ve already picked the perfect branch to hang it on in our backyard once she brings it home… Thank you for sharing such a great project – she actually enjoyed doing her homework and we got to spend quality time together! 🙂
I’m so happy to hear this SueAnne!