By Rev. Doug Forbes

Bottle cap art will help your young people tap their creativity, teach them the importance of recycling and its’s a lot of fun too!

For Bottle Cap Bible Scenes you need:  Bibles, Bible concordances, heavy poster board or cardboard, tacky glue, glitter, fine tip markers and all sizes and shapes of bottle caps.

A few weeks before your art project, place recycling bins at your house of worship clearly marked “Clean bottle caps only for class project.”  Ask that announcements be made regarding your bottle cap collection.  Make sure to carefully wash and dry the bottle caps before use.

Begin your class by asking your students to use their Bibles and concordances to discover interesting Bible scenes they could illustrate using bottle cap art.  Some examples might be the creation story, Moses crossing the Red Sea, Jonah and the big fish, Noah’s Ark with/or without the rainbow, or Jesus feeding thousands of people.  Allow time for each child to share his or her findings.

Next, sort the bottle caps by size and color and give each child a large piece of poster board.  Instruct the children to write the name of their Bible Scene at the bottom of the poster board, and then lay out their bottle caps to create the scene without gluing them.

Review each child’s bottle cap scene and make gentle and helpful suggestions to improve their works of art.  They could also use markers and glitter glue to help connect the caps.  When ready, allow the children to carefully glue their caps in place.  They can enhance their works of art with glitter and any other useful items on hand.
After all the works of art are completed give the budding artist a word of encouragement and praise regarding their project.  Discuss the importance of studying God’s word and following its positive moral lessons.  Review Genesis 1:28-31 and Genesis 2:15 and discuss how we are supposed to take care of and protect the beautiful world God has given us.  Explain about how recycling is one of the ways all of us can participate to make our world a cleaner, safer and healthier place.