Make a Gacha Alien

What can we use instead of the specific clay or a recycled capsule if we can't find them?

If you don't have polymer clay, use air-dry clay or homemade salt dough for the body and replace the recycled capsule with a small plastic egg, film canister, or cleaned pill bottle to hold the finished alien and surprise.

My tiny arms or antennae keep falling off or the clay cracks when drying—what should we do?

To prevent arms, legs, or antennae from falling off during the 'press each tiny piece onto the body' step or cracking when you 'let your clay dry or bake,' firmly press and blend seams, add tiny toothpick supports in joints, and follow the clay's package drying or baking directions with adult supervision.

How can we change the activity for younger kids or older kids?

For younger children use larger pre-rolled balls of play-dough or air-dry clay and stick on eyes or stickers instead of tiny parts, while older kids can use polymer clay with adult-supervised baking, add armature wire for poseable limbs, and write a longer backstory before sharing on DIY.org.

How can we make the Gacha Alien more special or expand the project?

Enhance the finished alien by painting baked or dried clay with acrylics or glow-in-the-dark paint, decorate the recycled capsule as a detailed spaceship or habitat using the 'wrapping it with paper and stickers' step, and create a trading card with the one-sentence backstory to swap on DIY.org.