YouTopia Moving Diorama

Similar to other Pathfinders kits, this diorama is created in much the same way. The focus of YouTopia, however, is on arts and crafts rather than science and history. The kit is used to craft a sort of "cascading scene, with a front and back wall and a crank between moving two suspended wooden platforms at ground level and through the air. Several blank sheets of stock paper are included to accent both the platforms and the diorama as a whole, which can be cut and decorated (manually or digitally) to create moving scenesfor example, the sheet in front of the diorama can be cut with jagged edges and painted to resemble a field, while the sheet behind could be left uncut and painted as a sky. Then, the platforms can be decorated with a dog at ground level and a bird in the air; rotate the crank, and the scene comes to life as a dog runs through the field, chasing the bird.

If kids are dissatisfied or bored of one diorama, another can be created just as simply by swapping out the decorative paper and replacing it with a new scene. (Some of the examples we thought of included airport scenes with planes taking off, or even UFO's taking off into a night sky.) If desired, the scenes can be extended by adding other craft materials or figure platforms (attaching them to the moving rods). With a lot of work and a little artistic talent, your child will be on their way to making a truly "moving scene worthy of any Renaissance painter!