ANIMAL COSTUMES - Denver Zoo

ANIMAL COSTUMESCOMPARING CHARACTERISTICS / CREATURE CONNECTIONSBelow are ideas for different types of animal costume elements that your students can make for theirfinal projects. Visit the website links for guidelines and adapt the projects for your students and theanimals they have chosen. Depending on the time you and students’ parents have, you can search theinternet for inspiration to transform clothing (like hoodie sweatshirts) into costumes.PAPER PLATE MASKSTransform this craft into a mask:1) Instead of using wiggle eyes, you can help students cut eye holes in their platesso that they can look out from behind their mask.2) Punch a hole with a single hole -punch on either side of the plate.3) Tie a piece of string or yarn through either hole so that you can tie the maskson.http://www.firstpalette.com/Craft_themes/Animals/paperplateanimals/paperplateanimals.htmlMILK JUG MASKSLearn how to transform milk jugs into animal masks here:http://spoonful.com/crafts/milk-jug-animal-masksOTHER ANIMAL MASKSFind a listing of a variety of animal masks including printable templates here:http://esl-puppetry-and-more-page3.blogspot.com/p/images-for-animal-masksfor-children.htmlPAPER WINGSIf students select sarus crane for their animal, you might find inspirationfrom this paper wings craft.http://www.willowday.com/2012/02/diy-paper-paper-wings.html

ANIMAL VISORUse the “bunny visor” here for inspiration to make animal hats, headbandsor visors. To use school supplies, try this:1) Cut a 3” wide strip of posterboard. Wrap it around a student’s head tomake sure you make it the correct length. Mark (with pencil or justholding the strip) where you should staple the posterboard. Staple thestrip (and trim any excess) so that you have a posterboard headband.2) Now you can glue, tape or staple ears and faces to the headband.3) You can also add another strip of posterboard to go over the top of thestudent’s head and attach on either side of the headband near the ears.This way you can attach other elements in different places.http://www.firstpalette.com/Craft_themes/Wearables/bunnyvisor/bunnyvisor.htmlFLYING FOX BATSIf your students want to be flying foxes, get inspiration here. To avoidsewing, students could safety pin wings to their sleeves, or you couldcreate wing “sleeves” by draping fabric over students’ arms and thenusing fabric glue to attach the front and back and create a hole that theycan slip their arms through.http://alphamom.com/family-fun/holidays/do-it-yourself-kids-batcostume/CARDBOARD BOX COSTUMESThough this example is a car, cardboard boxes can be made into animalcostumes too. Students could wear a box with suspender straps (like thisexample) or could cut arm holes out of a box. Paint and decorate the box totransform it in into an animal. You can easily add tails, legs, or horns usingyour chosen materials. You can decorate the box to be an animal all on itsown or you could have the box be a part of the animal’s body and you couldalso create masks to go with it.http://dailysavings.allyou.com/2011/09/26/homemade-halloween-costumes-car/