Camouflage Dinosaur Craft
This project is great for young kids! While playing with dinosaurs and hiding them among plants, they will learn about camouflage and animal adaptations. Extend the playful learning over a couple of days by playing the optional hide-and-seek game. Or, create dinosaurs with different paint colors and experiment placing them in different environments like rocky areas and water.
Difficulty Level: Easy
Project Time: 30 minutes, plus extra time to play
STEAM Concepts: Science, Art,
Preschool Skills: cutting, small motor skills.
Letters/Sounds: D (dinosaur). C (camouflage)
Supplies:
Card stock.
A variety of 3 or 4 paint colors like: green, black, white & brown or yellow NOTE - For a great lesson on camouflage, consider using colors that match the natural environment where you live. For instance, if you live in a desert environment you could use tones of brown, tan & grey.
Plastic wrap
Scissors
One toilet paper carboard tube per dinosaur, cut in half
Dinosaur outline template (print our template)
Optional: googly eyes and a sharpie for face details
Step 1)
Make small “blobs” of paint from each paint color all over your piece of card stock by squeezing the paint out in different spots on your paper.
Step 2)
Cover the card stock covered in paint blobs with plastic wrap. Use two or three pieces to make sure the edges of your paper are covered in plastic wrap.
Step 3)
Now for the fun part! Push down on the paint blobs and mix the paint together until the entire piece of paper is covered in paint.
Step 4)
Remove the plastic wrap and let the paper dry for at least 6 hours. If there are large spots of thick paint, you can dab the paint up with a paper towel before you let the paper dry.
Step 5)
When the paper is dry, use a dinosaur template to cut out a dinosaur shape from the painted card stock. Draw a mouth and eye with a black sharpie or glue a googly eye onto the dinosaur.
CLICK TO PRINT OUR DINOSAUR TEMPLATE
Step 6)
Cut a cardboard toilet paper tube in half and insert the dinosaur's legs into the rolls. Using Bramble Glen's printable dinosaur template for this project gives you correctly sized legs for fitting into the cardboard tubes.
STEAM Connection / Educational Concepts
Animals use something called camouflage to make themselves hard to see. Painting your dinosaur shades of green can make your dinosaur difficult to see near green plants and trees. If you live in an environment with brown rocky areas, try using shades of brown. Or, use shades of blue near water. Study animals who use camouflage - some use camouflage to hide from predators, other use it to sneak up on the things they eat!
Game - CAMOUFLAGE DINOSAUR HIDE-AND-SEEK:
Take your dinosaur outside and hide it somewhere where it blends into the natural environment. Have a friend or group of friends try to find your dinosaur. Take turns hiding and finding.
Resources:
A photo gallery of hidden animals who use camouflage: https://kids.nationalgeographic.com/wacky-weekend/article/hidden-animals
Different types of camouflage: https://kids.kiddle.co/Camouflage
Author - Brandy Stone
