Featured Thai Artist: Chalermchai Kositpipat
Chalermchai Kositpipat is mostly a painter, and he is known for using many Buddhist images in his work. He started out by painting movie advertisements for billboards, but moved into more traditional art. He pushed boundaries in mixing more contemporary styles with traditional themes, and mixed temple art with modern images.
Other Thai Activities for Kids: Thailand STEM and Craft Activities
Gold Leaf Model Reclining Buddha
Materials
- Watch the very brief video on Wat Pho and the Reclining Buddha from above to get an idea of how the Reclining Buddha looks. Then begin creating your own Reclining Buddha out of clay. Let sit until dry.
- While your clay is drying, consider learning about Buddhism and the significance of statues in this book for kids.
- When your clay has hardened, take your brush and gently brush the metal leaf adhesive in short upward strokes in small sections. Place bits of gold leaf on the glue and gently brush away the excess. Continue on to the rest of the figure.
Aluminum Foil Asian Elephant Craft
Materials
- Piece of cardboard
- Glue
- Heavy duty aluminum foil
- Paint + brushes or Sharpies
Instructions HERE
Thai Craft & Culture Activity for Kids
Here are a few ideas for some other Thai kids crafts and activities!
Other Thai Kids Activities
- Try this Thai Pongal craft, a Hindu harvest festival.
- Songkran is the Thai New Year. Here are several Songkran activities for kids, including a beautiful paper flower bud.
- Here’s a Thai umbrella art lesson.
- Thailand features beautiful long-tail boats to transport people around. You can create your own model long-tail boat by carving it out of soap or modeling it out of clay!
Nature in Thailand
About 1/10th of all animal species and also 1/10th of all bird species live in Thailand. Thailand has more birds than Europe and America combined!
Elephants are very common in Thailand, but they have a history of being abused and treated very poorly. Some sanctuaries are beginning to take much better care of them, so it’s important to support those that care for the elephants appropriately. While there are over 5,000 elephants in Thailand today, there used to be over 100,000.
Holidays in Thailand
Songkran (Thai New Year) –April 13th-15th
Songkran is one of the biggest and most important Thai holidays. The 3 day celebration is often combined with the weekend to make a 5 day break. This holiday is celebrated with parades, religious ceremonies, and festivities throughout the country.
Water plays a big part in this holiday. It is associated with purifying things for the new year, bringing rain for a good harvest, and with fertility. The tradition of splashing water on people has grown into a multi-day water-fight, where water guns, buckets, and hoses are used to drench everyone in sight.
Kid Movies About Thailand
Directors have filmed a number of films in Thailand, but I haven’t found any that are great for kids. Please let me know if you do!
