Rainforest Habitat Diorama

Learn all about tropical rainforests and the animals that live in this habitat by making this fun shoebox diorama. Also, check out our other habitat diorama projects: African Savanna iorama, !oral "eef iorama, #olar iorama, All iorama !rafts

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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 Small box A* or Letter si)e card stock +ro,n construction paper -reen crepe paper -reen acrylic paint !rayons or colored pencils Scissors &hite glue #aint brush #encil

.ot glue gun Small rocks and t,igs /optional0

Steps
Prepare the box. 1. 2or optimal space, use a large shoebox and keep the lid attached. #ositioning the box upright also provides the vertical space needed for tall rainforest trees.

$eep the box lid permanently fixed at a 34 degree angle by attaching a small box at the bottom portion of the hinge. 5se a hot glue gun or tacky glue to keep the small box in place.

Paint the box. #aint the box ,ith acrylic or poster paint. Acrylic paint is best used ,hen the box has a glossy finish. 2or the inside of the box, use a single shade of green or go for several shades to create depth. 7ou can also paint some trees. 8ptionally, paint the outside of the box ,ith your preferred color. Prepare some trees. !ut a rectangular section of bro,n construction paper to make half a tree. The paper%s height should be at least an inch taller than the box height. At the bottom of the tree and on one side, you need to add tabs for gluing. These tabs are basically excess paper around : inch from these t,o edges of your paper tree. ra, half of a tree starting from the side tab margin and branching out to,ards the opposite edge. /!lick the photo for a larger vie,.0 'f you are using a smaller box or positioning the box hori)ontally, you may be able to use this tree template as a guide.

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!ut out the tree. 2old the side and bottom tab to,ards the back to crease them. !ut out about an inch from the top and bottom of the side tab.

A ,hole tree can be attached onto the middle section of the box. ra, one on bro,n construction paper, making sure that the height of the paper is at least an inch taller than the box height. ra, a bottom tab about : inch from the bottom of the paper. !ut out the tree. ;otice ho, 6<9 of the bottom tab has been trimmed off. This is because this tree ,ill be positioned in the middle of the box, right ,here the hinge is. The portion of the tree ,ith the bottom tab ,ill lie on the main box section ,hile the portion ,ithout the tab ,ill be glued onto the box lid.

Attach the trees. *. #osition the tree trunks inside the box. -lue the bottom tabs and the side tabs.

2old the tops of the branches and glue them to the ceiling of the box.

Add leaves. =. Add leaves, starting from the tree at the backmost part of the box and ,orking to,ards the frontmost tree. !ut strips of green crepe paper and crumple them slightly. -lue them to the branches and to the edges of the box to add more foliage.

The more crepe paper leaves you add, the lusher the trees. Try placing them so they extend outside the top edge of the box. 7ou can use different shades of green for contrast.

Make some ferns and plants. >. !reate some ferns, philodendrons, and other rainforest plants using plain paper or crepe paper. Step(by(step instructions can be found here. -lue the plants to the box using a hot glue gun.

Prepare some rainforest animals. ?. 7ou can dra, your rainforest animals or cut them out from old maga)ines. 7ou can also print out any of these "ainforest Animal sets on A* or Letter si)e card stock. !olor and cut out the animals.

Position the animals. @. #osition the animals inside the diorama. 7ou can glue them onto tree branches, behind the trees, amidst ferns and plants, or even on top of the canopy.

Add more detail. 3. Small rocks, t,igs, dried leaves, and other materials from nature can be added to add texture to your diorama. .eavier materials, such as small rocks, can be glued in place ,ith a hot glue gun.

Tightly t,ist strips of green crepe paper to make jungle vines. To make your vines coily, ,rap them around a pencil. -lue one end of each vine onto a tree branch or to the box%s ceiling.

!heck out more habitat diorama ideas here: African Savanna .abitat iorama !oral "eef .abitat iorama

inosaur iorama #olar .abitat iorama All iorama !rafts