Kids love dinosaurs! Here are 3 simple and cute projects that kids can do on their own with maybe just a bit of direction from family. These projects are best for ages 3 and up since glue, paint, and scissors are used. The best part is that you most likely already have these materials around the house.
Listed below are detailed instructions on how to make paper plate dinosaurs with legs, dinosaur masks, and dinosaur claws. They are so much fun for kids to make and play with. Get creative with paint colors and let your little dinosaur lover go wild!
Kids love getting messy with paint so the painting part is great to do outdoors on a picnic or patio table. If you allow the painting inside, be sure to protect your table with some type of plastic, cloth or paper cover. Of course, if you want to avoid the mess, you can always use solid white paper plates and let the kids color them with crayons or markers instead of painting. All other steps are the same.
These paper plate dinosaur projects are also great for daycare, school, and church, Or, add some dinosaur chicken nuggets, dinosaur fossil cupcakes (place broken white-chocolate dipped pretzel pieces on top of milk chocolate iced cupcakes), lime sherbet punch (call it swamp water), and jungle music (like The Lion Sleeps Tonight) to make for an inexpensive and awesome dinosaur birthday party. Let the kids chase each other around wearing their masks and claws they they made themselves during the party. Don’t forget to take pictures. I have some great photo craft ideas coming up soon. What a ROARing fun time!
How to make a paper plate dinosaur
You will need the following items:
- Plastic table cloth, trash bag, paint cloth, or old newspaper to protect your table
- Paper plate – regular dinner size is best. One plate makes one dinosaur.
- Scissors
- Ruler
- Pencil (for marking toilet paper roll before cutting)
- Glue
- Toilet paper roll – one per dinosaur
- Acrylic paint – If coloring instead of painting, substitute crayons or markers.
- Paint brush
Step 1
Fold a large paper plate in half, and cut into 2 to create the ‘shell’ of your dinosaur.
Step 2
Take one half of the plate and draw and cut a head, a tail and triangular spikes in whatever shapes you fancy. Glue these to the second half of the plate to create the template for your dinosaur.
Step 3
To make the feet, measure, mark with pencil, and cut a toilet paper roll into 3 parts. I used a ruler and made cuts at 1.3 inches and 2.6 inches to use for the dinosaur legs, and threw away the remaining portion. Take the 2 pieces and cut slits in the top on opposite sides. Insert the dinosaur’s body onto the feet so it’s stable and can stand.
Step 4
Paint the dinosaur with your chosen color or combinations of colors of acrylic paint and leave to dry. Use your creativity here because dinosaurs can be any colors you can imagine. It will take a few hours to dry completely. I allowed mine to dry overnight. Instead of painting, you could color your dinosaur with markers or crayons if you prefer to use one of those.
Step 5
Use white paint to paint a circle for the eye. Allow to dry, then use a black marker to make a dot for the pupil.
Your dinosaur is ready to name and find a place to stand! Make several and group them together to make a family of dinosaurs.
You can base your dinosaurs off ones that really did exist, or you can be creative and make your own kind of dinosaur! Nobody knows what colors dinosaurs were, so even if you make a dinosaur based off of one that really did exist, you can still be creative with the colors. Go wild!
How to make a dinosaur mask
You will need the following items:
- Acrylic paint or broad tip markers
- 1 paper plate
- Yellow, orange, or red construction paper to cut out horns, nose, and mouth
- 1 straw
- Tape
- Scissors
Step 1
Cut the bottom 1/3 off of a paper plate. Throw that part away and use the remaining 2/3 portion of the plate.
Step 2
Trim a scalloped pattern around the dimpled edge of the plate to make the crest of the triceratops.
Step 3
Paint or color your mask. Use any color or combinations of colors that you like. Go wild with patterns, or don’t do any patterns, it’s up to you to decide!
Step 4
Cut out 2 eye-holes using scissors.
Step 5
Using yellow, orange, or red construction paper, cut out two rounded triangle horns, a larger rounded triangle for the triceratops nose, and a longer semi-oval shape for the mouth. Use a marker or paint to add dots to each side of the mouth.
Step 6
Glue the horns, nose, and mouth to the paper plate mask using school glue or glue stick.
Step 7
Turn your mask over and tape or glue the straw to the right of the back of the mask (left side if child is left-handed). I started with glue, but the straw kept coming off so I reinforced it with tape. It’s probably best just to use tape since it holds better and it’s on the back of the mask that can’t be seen anyway.
Google different types of dinosaurs and try creating masks for several types if you want. You can even make a mask based off of a dinosaur that you or your child dreams up!
How to make a dinosaur claw
You will need the following items:
- 2 Paper Plates
- Construction Paper (brown, black, or grey for the claws)
- Paint or markers
- Scissors
- Glue
Step 1
Glue two paper plates together then cut the bottom portion off (about 1 inch). This will leave the bottom open for little hands to slide right in.
Step 2
Paint (or color) your paper plate on one side and allow to dry completely.
Step 3
Cut out three sharp claws from construction paper and glue to the top.
Your claw is ready for a hand to move it!
I hope your kiddos enjoy these dinosaur crafts. They are really fun to make. My niece and I had a blast making them, and playing around with them afterwards. There is no right or wrong as far as colors, so kids can mix different colors together to make their own unique creatures. Then it’s time to put on their masks and claws to chase each other around the room, or outside in their pretend jungle or Jurassic World yelling ROAR!!!!
