Your team challenge:
For this activity, team up with a parent, grandparent, classmate, or friend.
Your challenge is to create 6-10 model animals out of a sculpting material, like modeling clay.
As you work, pay attention to the features of each animal that make it unique. Does your animal have long legs? A short tail? Stripes? A funny beak? What color is your animal? Try to model these features.
Materials you’ll need:
- clay, modeling clay, air dry clay, or other sculpting material
- photographic references of the animals you want to make (from a book or an online nature website, like Mongabay Kids!)
Which animals should you choose?
You can choose animals you want to learn more about. You can also choose animals that fit into a theme. Here are some ideas:
- rainforest animals
- animals of Africa
- shorebirds
- reptiles and amphibians
- small mammals
- pond animals
- treetop creatures
- mighty megaherbivores
Some more inspiration!
Click to meet some of the animals Mongabay Kids has featured recently:
Extension ideas:
- Create a habitat for your animals. What plants are in the habitat? Is there water? Are there rocks for your animal to hide behind? To build your habitat, you can use scraps of paper, tissue paper, an old box, building blocks, or more modeling clay.
- Create a movie of your animals on a tablet or other device. You could make a stop-motion film to bring your animals to life and add music or sound effects. Or, you and your partner can narrate a creative story about your animals.
