How to Build a Model Dinosaur
Dinosaurs have always fascinated children. With various kinds and sizes and many books written about them, there's always something new to learn. Although dinosaurs are extinct, you can help your child make models that will last. Focus on simple shapes to help you make this stegosaurus. If you're feeling adventurous, you can make a whole collection.
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Instructions
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Cut off a piece of modeling clay with a blunt knife. Form it into a large oval about 4 inches long. Make it smaller toward the front, shaping it like an egg. If the clay is stiff when you start, warm it by holding it between your hands, or press it in a bowl to get the rounded shape. This will serve as the body.
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2
Make four rectangles, two longer than the others, and round the edges to form legs. Stretch out the bottoms to make feet. They should be long enough to bend slightly. The long rectangles will form the back legs. The shorter ones will form the front. Attach them to the body using toothpicks. If the toothpicks are so long they stick through, break off the tips and throw them out. Use the centers to connect the legs to the body, pushing both ends into the clay. Bend the legs slightly to help your stegosaurus stand.
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3
Form a long thick piece of clay about as thick as the legs but narrowing toward the end to form the neck. Make a long, narrow oval face at the end of the neck. Attach the neck to the body using a toothpick. Break off the ends if necessary to make it fit.
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4
Form a long narrow triangle of clay, about half as long as the body, to form the tail. Break off the ends of a toothpick and throw them out, using the remaining piece to attach the tail to the body. Stick toothpicks into the tail to form the stegosaurus's tail points.
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5
Using corrugated cardboard, cut triangles in varying sizes from small to large to form two rows of plates along stegosaurus's back. Add a quarter-inch tab at the bottom of each triangle to push into the clay. The plates toward the middle and end of his back are largest. Look at pictures on the website listed below to get an idea. You can also form the triangular plates from clay.
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6
Make eyes from tiny black beads or from bits of clay. Use a toothpick to carve a long grim mouth.
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Tips & Warnings
Try making other dinosaurs once you've mastered the stegosaurus. Using simple shapes reduces the dinosaur's complex build to its simplest form.
