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Coral Reef Diorama

Learn all about coral reefs and ocean life in this fun Coral Reef Diorama craft. It's a great summer craft to make especially after a trip to the beach or to an ocean theme park.

Materials Needed

Shoebox or similar-sized box
Printable card stock or
construction paper
Sand
Crayons or colored pencils
Acrylic paint
White glue
Scissors
Paint brush
Palette
Paper bowl or egg carton (optional)
Sea shells (optional)

Safety Guidelines

Always let your child use child-safe scissors.
Watch out for this sign . It means you need an adult's help for the particular step.

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Steps

	1.	You may orient your box vertically or horizontally, depending on your preference. Paint the exterior of the box with your chosen color of acrylic paint. If the box is unprinted, you may opt to leave the exterior unpainted. Paint the box interior with blue acrylic paint or cover it with blue-colored paper.
	2.	Draw different kinds of sea animals, including corals and bottom dwellers (e.g. starfish, crabs, clams, etc.) on white construction paper or card stock. You may also print out this Sea Animals template on card stock. Color and cut out the animals.
	3.	Make side, bottom, or center tabs for your sea creatures. These will allow the animals to be attached to the bottom and/or sides of your box. There are a number of ways to make the tabs: a.) Make an L-shaped paper tab and glue this at the back of the animal's body. Position the tab at the bottom portion of the animal (bottom tab) or at the sides (side tab).
		b.) Draw side and/or bottom tabs before cutting out your animals in Step 2.
		c.) Fold a rectangular piece of paper on both ends to create a center tab. This tab allows you to attach a paper animal to the background.
	4.	Glue the pieces for the background. You may also paint on more animals and other details if you like.
	5.	You may add other pieces on the foreground besides the paper cut-outs. For instance, this paper bowl section (bowl cut into quarters) can be used as a rock where one of the animals can be positioned. You can use other materials such as egg cartons or small boxes to break the flatness of the foreground.
	6.	Glue one of the animals onto the paper bowl.
	7.	Position the rest of the animals inside your diorama. The creatures on the foreground all have bottom tabs. Glue the tabs in place.
	8.	These swimming fishes have side tabs for gluing onto the sides of the box. Fishes with center tabs can be glued onto the background. Another option for creating swimming animals is to hang them from the box's ceiling with strings.
	9.	You can also make a fish hiding among corals by creating a slit each on the bottom edge of the fish and on the top edge of a coral. Interlock the slits to position the fish in place.
	10.	Once all the animals are in place, apply glue on the entire bottom surface of the box. Spoon on some sand over the glue to create a sandy ocean bottom. Position the paper starfish on the sand. Add real sea shells if you have some.
	11.	Enjoy your terrific Coral Reef Diorama! Go to main Habitat Diorama page for more diorama ideas. Browse all Diorama Crafts.

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