Model Igloo

This is a fun project in itself or it can be used with the 'Learning About Allah's Creation: WATER' lessons, particularly the third one "Living In The Snow" (see the Science section).

You will need either some foam (the sort you make sofa seats out of) or some polystyrene or styrofoam.  You will also need some strong glue (we used a glue gun).

Step 1 - cut the foam into bricks approx 1.5 x 1.5 x 3 cm.  You will need a LOT more than you think!  Also get a thick piece of card or cardboard to glue your igloo on to.

Step 2 - Begin to glue the 'bricks' down in a circle. The technique you use is exactly the same as that for making a real igloo. The first brick in the circle is actually a wedge shape because you slowly build up going round and round in a spiral, so making the first brick a wedge makes that spiral shape easier to form.

This is a close-up of the first 'wedge shaped' brick in the sequence:

Step 3 - Once that first layer is built, from this stage on you will have to make your bricks slanted on the inner edge. There are two examples in the picture below. (Note that the original sizing of the bricks is not exact - these two are different sizes. That doesn't matter.) By making the bottom side diagonal like this the walls will insha'Allah slowly slant inwards as the spiral gets higher which will then give your igloo that classic dome shape. It's fiddly but it's what will make your igloo an igloo instead of just a tall tower!

Step 4 - Keep building up slowly going round and round the spiral with your bricks slanting inwards. This photo was taken at the 'halfway' stage - you can see the walls are beginning to gently curve inwards and form the dome shape.

Step 5 - When you get to the top, glue two or three pieces together to fit the central small hole at the top to form a plug. Shape the sides of the plug so that it fits the hole fairly snugly if possible.

Step 6 - This was our finished igloo. It ended up a bit taller than it should, but then it was a fairly rush job and insha'Allah not too bad for a first attempt in only an hour, masha'Allah la hawla wa la quwata illa billah!

Step 7 - Just as with a real igloo, you only cut the doorway when you have finished. Carefully cut through the foam with a sharp craft knife.

Finally - paint your igloo white. Of course, this is where, if you've used polystyrene/styrofoam instead of foam, you save yourself the job because it would already be white!