Rubber Band Jellyfish

While “fishing” through my desk drawer, I happened upon a most unusual creature. Something I haven’t known to previously exist. It appeared to be a kind of rubber band jellyfish. As I examined the creature, I realized it was not one being, but much like the Portuguese-man-o war, an entire colony of rubber bands!

After spending some time studying it, I’ve learned how they form. The steps are listed below for anyone interested in propagating this rare and elusive creature.

• Various Size Rubber Bands
• Scissors
• Super Glue
• A Ball That Will Retain its Shape When Cut.
• Icepick or Anything Capable of Punching Holes in Tough Material
• A Toothpick

Take the ball and cut it in half. (Depending on the ball you use, you may need the ice pick to get started.)

You only need to keep one of the halves for now, but you can always save the other half if you would like to make another jellyfish. *These are indeed social creatures.

The cut ball will act as a surface on which your rubber bands will attach.

Rubber band jellies like to float in the air. Using your icepick again, punch a hole on top of the bell. Place a rubber band on the hole and use the ice pick to thread it through. The ball I used was able to hold the rubber band in place without needing any glue.

To create the appearance of being half a rubber band ball, cut the rubber bands into strips. Use your superglue to attach the strips into a haphazard design. Layer them on top of one another until you can no longer see the ball underneath. Glue one side first, then once it’s dried, glue its opposite end down.

To add tentacles, snip a variety of rubber bands open and delicately glue them to the underside of the bell. The toothpick comes in handy when doing this part because it will keep your fingers from getting covered in the glue.

Using a diverse array of thin, thick, short, and long rubber bands will make it appear more like an actual jellyfish. Place thicker bands in the center and thinner ones at the edge of the bell.

*A rubber band jellyfish is not known to be a stinging creature. You can easily hold them in your hands.

Hang your exotic jellyfish someplace for all to see!

(These are two species of rubber band jellyfish. One has frills at the end of the bell while the other does not.)