Habitat Diorama Instructions for Children
Teachers often ask students to create a diorama, a three-dimensional miniature model, for a class project. A common type of diorama that students make is a habitat diorama, where students recreate an outdoor environment complete with the proper vegetation and animal life. Dioramas range from the simple to elaborate and students can make them from a variety of materials, though most student dioramas use a shoebox and basic school supplies.
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Instructions
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Find out what requirements your child's teacher has for the diorama. Some teachers may limit students to certain types of habitats, such as habitats in your state or water-based habitats, while other teachers may allow your child to choose any habitat. Talk to your child about what animals and habitats interest her and choose a habitat of interest to create.
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Research the habitat. Work with your child to determine which animals and plants live in his selected habitat that he should include in his diorama. For example, a habitat diorama on the rain forest might include tree frogs, a toucan, a monkey and a snake, as well as lots of green vegetation, hanging vines and tall trees.
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Paint the inside of the box to match your child's selected habitat with poster paint. You may choose to use a solid color for the whole inside, such as blue paint for an ocean scene, or choose several colors, such as brown for the bottom of the box, green for the back and blue for the top for a forest scene.
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Create the animals and vegetation while the paint dries in the shoe box. Have your child draw the animals and plants he selected on colored construction paper and use markers to add details. Help your child make sure the animals and plants will fit in the shoebox, and talk to him about keeping the habitat to scale, or making sure that a tree frog is not the same size as a toucan. Cut the items out with scissors.
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Place the animals and vegetation into the diorama. Discuss with your child where she wants each item to go. Some objects may go on the back of the box, while others should stand up inside the box. Cut construction paper into small strips, fold into an "L" shape and glue half of the "L" to an animal's leg or the bottom of a tree. Glue to other part of the "L" on the bottom of the box to allow the objects to stand freely in the box. Use the same technique to glue items to the side of the box,by gluing the "L" to the side of the animal or plant.
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Make any changes or adjustments and let the project dry.
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Tips & Warnings
If you do not have a shoebox, select a box of similar size and cut out the front panel.
References
- Photo Credit chldren teaching image by Julia Britvich from Fotolia.com
