Cardstock Dinosaur Craft
This cardstock dinosaur craft is perfect for National Dinosaur Day on June 1st!
Interesting Information about Dinosaurs
If your kids are fascinated by dinos, here are some fun facts about these creatures to go along with your dinosaur craft time!
Diverse Sizes: Dinosaurs ranged dramatically in size. The smallest dinosaur known is the Compsognathus, which was about the size of a chicken, while the largest, Argentinosaurus, could reach lengths of up to 100 feet and weigh around 100 tons.
Feathers and Colors: Some dinosaurs, like the Velociraptor and the Microraptor, had feathers. Scientists believe that many dinosaurs were colorful, similar to birds today, based on the study of fossilized melanosomes (pigment-containing cells).
Complex Social Behaviors: Many dinosaurs exhibited complex social behaviors. For example, evidence suggests that some species, such as the Maiasaura, cared for their young in nesting colonies, similar to modern birds.
Dinosaur Footprints: Dinosaur footprints, known as trace fossils, provide a lot of information about their behavior. There are sites with thousands of footprints, such as the Paluxy River site in Texas, where you can see evidence of dinosaurs walking together in groups.
Cranial Crests and Horns: Dinosaurs like the Parasaurolophus had large cranial crests that might have been used for communication, while others like the Triceratops had impressive horns and frills likely used for defense and display.
Gizzard Stones: Some herbivorous dinosaurs, like the Seismosaurus, swallowed stones (gastroliths) to help grind up plant material in their stomachs, aiding in digestion.
Speed and Agility: Contrary to the image of slow, lumbering giants, many dinosaurs were fast and agile. The Ornithomimus, for example, could run at speeds estimated to be around 40-50 miles per hour.
Brain Size and Intelligence: Troodontids, a group of small, bird-like dinosaurs, had relatively large brains for their body size, suggesting they were quite intelligent, possibly exhibiting complex behaviors.
Dinosaur Eggs: Dinosaur eggs varied in size and shape, with the largest known eggs belonging to the sauropods. Some eggs were spherical, while others were elongated. Fossilized nests indicate some species laid dozens of eggs at a time.
Armored Defenses: Dinosaurs like the Ankylosaurus were heavily armored with bony plates and had club-like tails that could deliver powerful blows to predators. This suggests a high level of defensive adaptation among certain species.
List of Supplies for Cardstock Dinosaur Craft:
- Sold as 100/Pack.
- For report covers, flyers, postcards and art projects. Use in printers, copiers or typewriters.
- Acid-free for archival quality.
- Acid-free for archival quality. Contains 10-25% recycled content.
- For use with copiers, inkjet printers, laser printers, typewriters. Includes 100 sheets.
Instructions for Cardstock Dinosaur Craft
Step 1
Print and cut out the template patterns. The template includes the body base, scales, legs, spots, and toenail patterns. Trace the template patterns on the selected cardstock papers and cut them out nicely. Use a sharpie to draw the eye on the eye base cutout.
Step 2
Glue the spot cutouts on the body base cutout and glue the toenail cutouts along a side of the leg cutouts (the square shapes).
Step 3
Glue the eye on the head part of the body base and glue the spot cutouts on the body part.
Step 4
Take the leg cutouts and roll them into cylinder shapes. Use glue to join the open sides to secure the cylinder shapes. Use a pen or sharpie to draw the mouth and nose of the cardstock dinosaur figure.
Step 5
Keeping the toenails to the front, cut 1 cm slits on 2 opposite sides of the cylinder shapes. We will insert the bottom side of the body pattern through the slits of the cylinder-shaped legs to join them.
Step 6
Attach both cylinder-shaped legs with the body pattern. Make sure that the bottom ends of the cylinder-shaped legs are leveled, so that the cardstock dinosaur can stand on a flat surface.
Related Crafts and Projects
If you’re in search of other projects that go well with this one, we’ve got you covered! These are all fun projects and crafts you can do with your kids. They’re ideal for homeschool craft time, as part of a unit study, or to go along with story time as you read more about dinosaurs!
- Paper Bag Dinosaur Puppet
- Dinosaur Activity Pages for Kids
- How to Create a Unit Study to Encourage your Child’s Interests
- Dinosaur Coloring and Copywork
