Make a toad hand puppet

By kiley | June 4, 2018

Since we talked today about five facts that will make you love toads (read the blog post here), we decided to make a toad-themed craft.

If you look up toad crafts, there are not a lot out there! Like we mentioned in the blog post, toads tend to get overlooked in favor of their more colorful cousins --- frogs. However, we think toads are pretty cool, and we have a fun idea of how to make an adorable, moving toad puppet.

What you'll need:
A paper lunch bag
Markers --- browns, yellows, reds
White cardstock
Red cardstock
Scissors
Glue

Begin by decorating your paper bag with dots that represent the bumpy warts on a toad's body. Some toads have brown warts, some have warts that are red or even yellow.

Cut out two circle, about an inch in diameter, from the white cardstock. Color pupils of the eyes with a dark brown marker.

Cut out an approximately one-inch wide strip of red cardstock, the entire length of the sheet. Tightly roll the strip of red paper.

example of rolling red paper

Glue the eyes to the top of the paper bag flap and the tongue to the bottom of the paper bag flap.

Put your hand in the bag and your fingers into the flap so that it moves and its tongue wiggles as you move your hand!

the completed puppet

If you want your creation to move even more, try out leaping frog origami. You could even use brown paper and make it leaping toad origami!

Paper plate toad

Toads are such overlooked creatures. They’re a little lumpier and a little drabber than frogs, so they tend to be viewed as not as cute. However, we love toads! So we wanted to make a fun toad craft that you can do at home. You’ll need: A paper plate Crayons or markers Scissors Brown construction Read More »

Tell apart Iowa toads

Al and Wally, named for conservationist Alfred Wallace, are two Great Plains toads (Anaxyrus cognatus) that live at the Dickinson County Nature Center. Four different toads live in Iowa — Great Plains toad, American toad, Fowler’s toad and Woodhouse’s toad — and they can be difficult to tell apart. Here are a few key ways Read More »

FREE frog mask template

Did you know tree frogs’ last bone in their toes is shaped like a claw? Have you read about how about frogs’ bodies freeze during the winter and thaw in the spring? Do you know what a group of frogs is called? Click here to find out. Frogs are really interesting creatures, and many people Read More »

Five differences between chorus frogs and leopard frogs

A gentleman called last week because he had heard a sound like someone running a finger along the teeth of a comb in his basement. He had found and captured a small frog and wanted to bring it to us for the winter. Frogs usually hibernate for the winter (read about that here), but this Read More »

Fast frog facts

The Dickinson County Nature Center frog ambassadors are always a hit with kids when they come out during programs. That is often because they make the programs more exciting when they escape from the grasp of the naturalist with their squirmy, slippery bodies. But visitors also love to see their long legs, ability to jump Read More »

Five facts that will make you like toads

Because frogs are brightly colored, they tend to be looked on with more awe than toads. However, American toads have some pretty neat attributes when you get to know them. They taste bad. American toads are covered in red and yellow wart-looking spots that actually contain glands that secrete poison. Don’t worry, it won’t hurt Read More »

What is permeable skin? A video experiment

Amphibians have permeable skin, meaning they can absorb oxygen through their skin. However, it also means that chemicals and other harmful things from the environment can also be absorbed. Learn more about permeable and impermeable skin with this science experiment led by environmental education coordinator Bryanna Kuhlman. See more lessons and animal videos here.

Frogs are the real living dead

The title “living dead” is very Halloween-appropriate. And that’s exactly what northern leopard frogs are in the wintertime. Northern leopard frogs are native to northwest Iowa and are aquatic creatures, meaning they live in the water. Like American bullfrogs, which are not native to northern Iowa, northern leopard frogs will hibernate underwater. (See a video Read More »