It’s been a hot summer, so if you’re like us, you’ve been eating a lot of popsicles — which means you probably have a lot of popsicle sticks hanging around, and Nick Offerman (Ron Swanson on Parks & Recreation) has an idea for what you should do with them. In addition to being a very funny actor, Nick’s also a master woodworker — and he wants you to build something with all those popsicle sticks. He talks with Kurt Andersen about the origin of his woodworking skills and his unvarnished patriotism.

Kurt Andersen: Were you a carpenter before you were a world-famous actor?

Nick Offerman: Yes, I grew up using tools in a farm family in Illinois, which helped me a lot when I started working in theater in Chicago. I wasn’t very good yet at acting, so I would trick them into giving me a small part in a play so that I would build the set. I milked that scam for years until I became more decent as an actor.

Your latest book is Gumption: Relighting the Torch of Freedom with America's Gutsiest Troublemakers. This America-love of yours…what percentage is authentic and what percentage is ironic?

I think the America I adore is probably different than the object of Ron Swanson’s affection. But my love of our country is completely without irony. I devote my life to this place where we can all work together to use our ideas and our capacity for decency to evolve the human race.

The Challenge 

Build a popsicle stick sculpture for Nick Offerman based on one (or more) of his favorite things — see the categories below.

Categories:

• Bratwurst
• Fishing
• Masonry
• Wilco (the band)
• The Hoover Dam
• Puzzles
• America

Deadline: October 5 at 11:59pm ET.

How to Enter: Take a picture of your masterpiece and share it on Twitter or Instagram with the hashtag #MadeForNick, or submit them here. Nick will be back on the show in October to pick a winner.