DIY: Desert Diorama

For their first month of school, the second graders project is taking the students to the Ocean or Desert. They were asked to create a scene using a Poster, a Diorama or creating a PowerPoint presentation about their subject.

My Son choose to make a diorama showcasing a few Desert Animals in their habitat.

Materials/Tools Needed

• School Glue
• Hand drawn scenes
• Scissors
• Synthetic Desert Plants
• Stones
• Craft Moss
• Sand
• Box (we used a Swiffer Sweeper Wet Refills Box)
• Desert Toy Animals (or cutouts from drawings or Magazine)
• Markers
• Glue Gun and Glue Sticks

Step by Steps:

• Decide on the scenery you want for your background, draw directly on your box or on a paper and then glue onto the box.
• Figure out the placement of the Animals and Plants.
• Generously apply school glue at the base of your box. Randomly place your stones and then sprinkle some sand and let it dry.
• Apply some glue around the stones for the Moss.
• Let it all air dry for a day and enjoy.

Our Scenery consists of a Desert Scorpion, Road Runner, Horned Lizard, Coyote, Rattle Snake and a Ground Squirrel which are all Desert animals and which are local to our surroundings. We got to learn what these animals eat, their favorite habitat preferences and the way they affect their ecosystem by their existence.

Our second grader had so much fun researching each animal and picking the facts he believed to be important for others to know about each animal. We hope you and your little ones will have as much fun as we did building this project.

Have fun and enjoy!