How to Make Dinosaurs Out of Paper Towel Tubes

Using a small paint brush to apply white glue keeps paper smooth.

It’s always nice when you can not only recycle used packaging, such as paper towel tubes, but also find a way to make something new out of them. Making dinosaurs out of paper towel tubes is a fun project, easy enough for children of all ages. Additionally, the supplies needed are really cheap, making it the perfect activity for entertaining a large group of children.

Things You'll Need

• paper towel roll
• construction paper
• measuring tape
• ruler
• craft knife
• drawing paper
• pencil
• marker or crayons
• white glue
• small paint brush
• scissors

Instructions

1. Use a craft knife to cut your paper towel rolls in half. Use a ruler to measure the length and circumference of the cut halves. Use the same tool to measure a rectangular piece of green construction paper equal in height to the length of the paper towel tube. Make the width of the rectangle one inch wider than the circumference of the empty cardboard roll. This will allow for a one inch overlap for easy gluing.

2. Cut the construction paper rectangle out with scissors. Brush a coating of white glue on one side of the paper. Cover one half tube with the construction paper, and let the glue dry completely. (reference 1) Use light layers of glue to prevent the paper from becoming warped or lumpy from the glue. Repeat the process with the second half of the paper towel tube, which will allow you to make two dinosaurs.

3. Make heads for your dinosaurs. Pre-drawn patterns for dinosaur heads are available online for printing, or you can draw your own. (reference 2) To make your own dinosaur head, draw a frontal view of a dinosaur head and face on a piece of white drawing paper. Color the drawing with markers or crayons and cut the head out with scissors. (reference 1) Use white glue to attach the head to the top of the paper towel roll so that the top of the head is approximately 2 inches higher than the top of the paper towel roll. (reference 2)

4. Draw dinosaur arms and legs on white drawing paper. Color them and cut them out with scissors. Attach the arms on the left and right sides of the tube so the dinosaur head is facing the front. Glue the arms at the shoulders, so that they extend away from the creature's body for a three-dimensional effect. Repeat the process to atttach the dinosaur's legs to the bottom of the paper towel roll. (reference 1)

5. Draw a five-inch long tube that narrows to a point at the end on your piece of green construction paper. (reference 1) This will serve as a tail for your dinosaur. Make a folded tab at the wide end of the tail and glue the tab to the back of the dinosaur. Add decorations or extra details to your dinosaur. For example, you could cut yellow construction paper spots or orange stripes to glue to the dinosaur's body.

Tips & Warnings

• Always have an adult cut the paper towel rolls with a craft knife.

References

• DLTK-kids.com, Tyrannosaurus Rex TP Roll Craft
• DLTK-kids.com, Dorothy the Dinosaur