Media & Techniques

6 Cheap Hot Glue Gun Tips & Hacks for a Safe Art Room

| October 30, 2025

Do you use hot glue guns with your students? Whether you teach elementary, middle, or high school, these hot glue hacks will keep your art room running safely and efficiently! From budget-friendly classroom solutions to creative safety ideas, these tips will make your next batch of masterpieces stress-free!

In this video, you’ll learn to:

  • Recycle cardboard for hot glue gun placemats.
  • Grab gardening gloves from the dollar store to protect fingers.
  • Separate glue stick surplus so they don’t get accidentally melted!
  • Use a power strip tower for multiple hot glue guns in one area.
  • Create stations around the room for hot glue-heavy projects.
  • Do a safety demo and set clear expectations with teachers, parents, and students.

For more videos like this, check out the following:

To chat about hot glue guns with other art teachers, join us in The Art of Ed Community!

Magazine articles and podcasts are opinions of professional education contributors and do not necessarily represent the position of the Art of Education University (AOEU) or its academic offerings. Contributors use terms in the way they are most often talked about in the scope of their educational experiences.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Lindsey McGinnis

Lindsey McGinnis is AOE’s Media Content Manager and a former high school art educator. She is passionate about equipping art teachers to be successful in their classrooms and firmly believes that art is the best place for students to explore and process the challenging topics and concepts around them.

More from Lindsey

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