African Savanna Habitat Diorama

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Learn about the African savanna and its rich wildlife by
creating an animal-filled shoebox diorama.
View more habitat diorama projects !oral "eef #iorama$
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Safety Tips
&eep the glue gun out of young
children's reach.
(atch out for this sign . )t means
adult help is needed for the particular
step.
Materials
Shoebox or similar-si*ed box
!onstruction paper or card stoc+
!repe paper
Acrylic paint
!rayons or colored pencils
Scissors
(hite glue
%aint brush
!raft stic+s
,ot glue gun
Steps
-.
Prepare the box
Scout around for a shoebox or similar-si*ed box. A larger box gives you
more space to wor+ with and allows you to put in more details.
)f you want to include the lid as part of your diorama$ you will need to
+eep the lid permanently open by using a hot glue gun to attach craft
stic+s or any flat rigid material along the box's hinge.
..
Paint the box
/se poster paint or acrylic paint to color the box. Acrylic paint is best
used when your box has a glossy finish. %aint the inside walls with
whatever color you want the s+y to be0you can ma+e it blue or color it
yellow1orange for a sunset-filled s+y. %aint the ground green for a wet
season grassland or color it yellow ochre1light brown for a dry season
savanna. %ainting the outside of the box is optional.
2.
Draw or print out the animals
#raw the animals$ cut them out from maga*ines$ or print out online
images. 3ou can also print out these Safari or African Savanna Animals
sets on A4 or Letter si*e card stoc+.
4.
Color and cut out the animals
!olor and cut out the animal print-outs or drawings. The paper animals
should be able to stand up so use card stoc+ for printing them out or
draw them on construction paper. 5aga*ine animal cut-outs should be
glued onto cardboard or any heavy paper to ma+e them sturdier.
6.
Add backround details
%aint or glue on some bac+ground details li+e clouds$ a sun$ a tree$ or
some animals. (e've glued on strips of brown construction paper to
create a roc+y outcrop for the lion to rest on.
7.
Make a tree
The African savanna is a grassland with widely spaced trees. Some
animals li+e baboons live in trees and animals li+e giraffes and
elephants feed on their leaves.
To ma+e a tree$ draw a tree trun+ on cardboard or thic+ cardstoc+. 3ou
can also print out this Tree 8Template 9-: on A4 or Letter si*e
cardstoc+. !olor and cut out the tree trun+.
!reate a bottom tab by folding the tree along the base. 5a+e a side tab
by folding an inch from the leftmost branch. %osition the tree in the left
corner of your diorama by gluing the side and bottom tabs onto the box.
3ou may trim off the excess length of tree branches on top. (e prefer
ours to jut out of the box.
!ut green crepe paper into strips. !rumple them up slightly and glue
them onto the branches and onto the edges of the box.
;.
Add round features
<lue on ground features such as a watering hole or roc+s. 5a+e a
watering hole by cutting out an oval out of blue construction paper.
%aint egg carton sections to create roc+s or use real roc+s.
=.
Create paper tabs
Adding tabs will allow you to glue the animal to your box diorama.
a.: >old a strip of thic+ cardstoc+ into an L-shape. <lue behind the legs
to ma+e a bottom tab or behind the animal's posterior to create a side
tab.

b.: To attach an animal onto the front part of the box lid$ create a front
tab. >old a small rectangular strip of paper on both ends. <lue one end
of the tab behind the animal's legs and the opposite end onto the inner
face of the lid's wall.

c.: #raw and cut out a hill shape out of construction paper. <lue the
animal's legs about a half-inch from the bottom edge of the shape. >old
the shape right below the legs to create a bottom tab.

d.: >or larger or taller animals$ an additional side tab can help stabili*e
the animal.
?.
Position the animals
%osition the animals inside your diorama. <lue the bottom tabs onto the
ground and the side tabs onto the sides of the box.
@ote that some animals do not need any tabs since they can be glued
directly onto the edges of the box or onto objects in the diorama. The
cheetah$ for instance$ is glued onto the tree.
-A.
Create rass
A savanna is not complete without grass. To create grass$ cut green or
yellow ochre-colored paper into a rectangular piece. !ut blades of grass
along one long edge of the paper.
<lue the strip below the animal's legs or at the base of the tree.

To create grass that can stand on its own$ fold the strip of grass at the
base to create a bottom tab. <lue the bottom tab onto the ground.

>ill your diorama with lots of grass to turn it into an African grassland.
!hec+ out more habitat diorama-ma+ing ideas in these awesome
projects
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