Diorama Fun

What I love about making a diorama is it's 3D effect and how it brings the creation to life.  The possibilities of what your diorama can be are endless!  At the end of my post I will include some sites that share ideas for making a diorama. Creating a diorama works on fine motor skills, imagination and encourages recycling, especially if you use a shoe box.

When my son was about 4 years old he became interested in making diorama's.  Jonathan is now 8.5 but at the time he was a fan of the Sprout television network and Sprout features a viewer with their diorama during commercial breaks. Jonathan asked if he could make one and send to Sprout.  Here are some old pictures of Jonathan with his 'Sprout' diorama creations.

This is Jonathan's winter scene which still airs on Sprout during the Christmas season!

Supplies for winter scene:

Shoebox

cotton

cut out snowman from construction paper

cut out snowflakes

fabric for scarf

plastic tree

construction paper for mountains

string for hanging snowflakes

If anyone is familiar with Sprout then you'll know this is Star from The Goodnight Show!

Supplies for Star diorama:

Shoebox

cotton for clouds

construction paper for stars, moons, background and for Star 

napkin for Star's blanket

straw for toothbrush

bottle cap for moon

tinfoil for some other stars

pipe cleaner for Star's hair

string to hang stars and moons

Summer scene

Supplies used:

Shoebox

popsicle sticks for swing and pool ladder

cling wrap colored with blue marker for pool water

cardboard for pool

paper umbrella

toothpicks for flower stems

construction paper for flower cut outs and background

foam for swing seat

Spring scene

Supplies used:

Shoebox

construction paper for background,sun and mountains

pipe cleaner for flower and handle on pot of gold

paper plate for rainbow

string/yarn to hang rainbow

shredded paper for grass

popsicle sticks for fence

Looking back at these pictures reminds me of how much fun we had putting these together!

Once Tiffany was old enough I wanted her to also experience making a diorama.  We haven't made as many as my son but here are the 2 she did make.

Shapes and 123 Diorama

Supplies used:

box lid

construction paper for shapes, numbers and mountain

markers for coloring shapes and numbers

string for hanging shapes

Our most recent Springtime/Flower scene Diorama

recycled a toilet paper roll dipped in yellow paint for our sun

adding glue so that we could stick on our grass (shredded green paper)

Recycled more toilet paper rolls and painted them green to act as the stems for our flowers

We also added a butterfly which is attached by a pipe cleaner.  I punched a hole into the top of the shoebox, pushed through the pipe cleaner and added our butterfly.  I wanted Tiffany to be able to interact with the butterfly by being able to make it fly!  We keep this diorama on a cabinet that Tiffany can easily reach and from time to time I notice her stopping by and making her butterfly, fly!

Many elementary and middle schools will offer children the opportunity to make a diorama for a class project or to re-tell a story.  Museums also like using  diorama's to explain a certain time in history or the background of a specific animal.

Preschoolers, as you can see, can also have fun with them! For us it's all about creating and exploring art in a different way.

Here are some sites with more ideas for making your very own diorama:
http://www.firstpalette.com/Craft_themes/Animals/habitatdiorama/habitatdiorama.html
http://mod2vint.hubpages.com/hub/How-to-Make-a-Dinosaur-Diorama
http://www.planetpals.com/craft_recycle_shoebox.html

I love that Sprout t.v. encourages creativity by featuring their children viewers diorama creations! If you have Sprout t.v. you may want to check out how to make and send them your diorama!
http://www.sproutonline.com/content/sproutorama

What could your diorama be about?
African animals
Sea creatures
Dinosaurs
Airplanes
Buildings
Letters
Numbers
Lego's