Creating movable art: how would you like to hang a dancing Louisiana crawfish over your bed? You might start dreaming about fishing or canoeing along a Louisiana river, or just laugh a little.

At the 2003 International ChildArt Festival on the National Mall in Washington, DC, art teacher Judy Johnson taught dozens of kids to make springy movable crawfish that can be hung from strings to create movable sculptures. Sculptures that can move are called mobiles, and are often done in brightly colored materials. They can be made of metal, wood, glass--almost any material--but yours will be made of paper and string. Choose bright colors for the paper. Ms. Johnson's choice for her crawfish was bright red!

To MAKE YOUR CRAWFISH MOBILE, YOU WILL NEED:

* 9" x 12" construction paper, or colored file folders * scissors * pencil * ruler * glue * small black beads or sequins (for the eyes) * fishing line or string

How to make the crawfish:

1 Fold the 9" x 12" paper in half to form a long skinny rectangle.

2 Draw a diagonal line from the top fold corner to the bottom open corner to form half of a large triangle.

3 Keep the paper folded and cut along the line

4 Fold the sides of the triangle into the center crease to form a paper airplane shape, and carefully crease the edges

5 Open the paper and fold it in half again. The large end will be the head and the pointed end will be the tail.

6 From the end of the head measure about 2 inches and, while keeping the paper folded, cut diagonal slits from the top fold to the creases where the sides were folded in. The slits should be about 1/4-inch apart and go all the way to the tail. It is important to cut carefully. The slits should be consistent and at the same angle. The slits should go all the way to the crease, but not over it.

7 Fold the crawfish back like an airplane and overlap the ends. Holding the head and tail, you should be able to make the crawfish curl like a slinky into a C-shape. If this doesn't work, check your cuts to be sure they come all the way to the crease-and if necessary, adjust the cuts with your scissors.

8 Glue the sides together to make a triangular cone-shaped body. Hold the sides together until the glue is dry and bend the body into a C-shape again.

9 Cut into the head at an angle to create an open mouth for your crawfish. (see picture)

10 Take another piece of construction paper to create a tail. Fold the paper in half and cut out a triangle with the fold at the top. Cut a few flutes into the tail for added interest. Glue the tail onto the body of the crawfish at the pointy end.

11 Take another scrap of paper and cut out two claws. You can fold the paper and cut two at a time, so they will be identical. Glue the claws onto either side of the third segment of your crawfish.

12 Then cut a few little "whiskers" to add to the crawfish's head. You should cut two longer and two shorter. Glue them to the head.

13 Now your crawfish needs eyes. Use beads, sequins, or just scraps of black paper and create eyes to glue on each side of the head. Now the crawfish can look at you!

14 Now cut two or three more wiggly legs--smaller than the claws--for each side of the body, and glue them on.

15 Glue or tie fishing line or string to the fourth or fifth section of your crawfish and hang it wherever you like! He could become a tree ornament or add a little personality to your desk or book bag. You may decorate him with colored paper, hats, shoes-whatever looks good to you!