Easy and inexpensive pipe cleaner animals
I was flipping through Pinterest last night when I saw some photos of amazing miniature animal creations and realized that they were all made out of pipe cleaners.
That's something we have a lot of in the craft supply area at the nature center, so I figured it would be the perfect craft to feature on our website this week.
Following some basic instructions that you can build off of to make different animals, I tried a chameleon, turtle, bee and robin that all worked out successfully. I will admit I attempted to make a bald eagle and failed miserable. Perhaps you have more talent than I do.
Here are the basic instructions that I used to make my mom's favorite bird, a robin. Use it, build off of it and show us what animals you come up with!
opens IMAGE file To make a head, fold the pipe cleaner in the middle and make a loop.
Then wrap the tail that you folded over around the loop to fill it in, making a head.
Wrap another pipe cleaner around a marker --- the fatter the marker the fatter the body --- and then slide it off of the marker.
opens IMAGE file Slide the curled body segment onto the head piece, attaching at the base of the head by crimping the top of the body segment onto the head piece. That's the basis of most animals. Then use other pipe cleaners to add color and shapes. I threaded through an orange pipe cleaner for a robin's belly and folded the bottom of the original pipe cleaner into a tail. I then cut a yellow pipe cleaner and folded it into feet and a beak.
A sticky googly eye adds personality!
Pipe cleaner animals are tons of fun, because you get to use your imagination. Plus, if you mess up, a pipe cleaner costs hardly anything at all.
opens IMAGE file Chameleon - Learn about permeable skin.
If you want to share your creations with us, e-mail naturecenter@co.dickinson.ia.uscreate new email or post them on the Dickinson County Nature Center Facebook page!
Button turtle
People love to spot turtles in the wild. Snapping turtles, painted turtles, softshell turtles — it is so fun getting to see these truly unique creatures. Let’s celebrate turtles right at home by making a button turtle craft. You’ll need:A printed templateColored pencils, crayons or markersButtonsGlue Print out our button turtle template, and color it Read More »
Read More
Robin migration: When it starts and why you might see robins during the winter
Each year, since I was a little kid, my mom and I take guesses about when we will see the first robins of the year. Now that I live in northwest Iowa and she lives in eastern Iowa, she usually sees them first, so I usually guess earlier than I would expect to see them Read More »
Read More
Thumbprint bees
One of our volunteers made coffee filter butterflies with her granddaughter, and in exchange, her granddaughter showed her how to make thumbprint bees. We thought they were so cute, we would try them ourselves. And just to make it more exciting, we did a variety of thumbprint invertebrates! All you’ll need is: White paper Washable Read More »
Read More
Make a bendable snake with pipe cleaner and beads
In honor of my big day today, holding a snake for the first time (you can see the video here), we made a fun snake craft. Whether you love snakes or hate them, this craft is cute and simple. You’ll need: Pipe cleaners Beads Googly eyes Liquid glue Start by selecting what kind of head Read More »
Read More
Five bee myths and truths
Myth: Bees are mean. Truth: Bee are nice. Honeybees only sting as a last resort, because they die after stinging. That means, unless they feel threatened or think you are going to hurt the hive, they will leave you alone. Myth: Bees will keep stinging you. Truth: As stated above, honeybees will die after stinging Read More »
Read More