Popsicle Stick Dinosaur Craft {with a Free Template}

Inside: This painted popsicle stick dinosaur craft is fun for kids of all ages to make. Use the free printable template to make it extra easy!

dinosaur crafts with title Popsicle Stick Dinosaur Craft Free Templates!

Dinosaur Craft

I’ve wanted to get a kids’ dinosaur craft up here for a long time, and today I have an adorable idea for you!

Well, actually, two!

The green one looks a bit like a stegosaurus, and the yellow and blue one is a triceratops. Neither is entirely accurate, but both are adorable and fun to make and play with.

We love making crafts with popsicle sticks here because you can do so many different things with them! This unicorn craft has been popular, for instance.

If you plan on making these dinosaurs in the classroom or other larger group of children, scroll most of the way to the end for some tips.

Materials

craft materials

(Disclosure: Books and Giggles is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.)

For each dinosaur craft you’ll need the following:

  • 7 regular size popsicle sticks
  • 2 mini popsicle sticks (2.5 inches long)
  • Paint (see discussion below)
  • Paintbrushes
  • Craft foam (like thisad)
  • Scissors
  • 2 googly eyes
  • Black marker (washable is fine)
  • Glue – hot glue or school glue

Use your choice of paint here. Acrylic covers the best, but will stain clothing. Washable tempera is more transparent, but it’s easier to clean up.

Preparation

  • If you’re working with young children or will be pressed for time and don’t want to mess with hot glue, you may want to pre-assemble the craft sticks (Steps 1 & 2 below).
  • For preschoolers, you may also want to pre-cut the craft foam for them so that all they need to do is glue the pieces on.
  • Otherwise, print a copy of the template for each child (step 5 below).
  • Get out all supplies and cover the work area and clothing to prepare for painting.
  • Practice your dinosaur ROAR!
boy playing with toy dinosaurs, pretending to roar

Instructions

  1. Line up the seven regular size popsicle sticks in a neat, even row.
craft sticks and hot glue gun
  1. Glue the mini popsicle sticks across the row of larger sticks. Place one near the top and the other near the bottom as shown here:
7 long craft sticks with a short stick laid across perpendicularly at the top and at the bottom
  1. When dry, flip over and cover the surface with an even layer of paint. Let dry.
partially painted craft sticks
  1. Next, glue the eyes near the top of the painted surface.
dinosaur craft with just the eyes glued on
  1. Now, use the free template (see below) or work freehand to cut desired shapes from foam paper for the tail, spikes, horns, or head pieces for your dinosaur. Here is the free template:
Dinosaur Craft Templates
dinosaur craft with pieces not yet glued on
  1. Glue the pieces onto the back of your painted surface.
back of dinosaur craft
triceratops parts with glue
triceratops partly assembled
  1. Use the black marker to draw on a mouth, and then glue on the teeth.
  2. Your dinosaurs are finished!

Here’s the stegosaurus…

green dinosaur craft

…and here’s the triceratops:

triceratops craft displayed with rocks and plant

I can’t decide which of these dinosaur crafts one I like better!

Tips for Making This Dinosaur Craft in the Classroom

If you’ll be working with a group of kids, you could take a few shortcuts to make management easier:

  • Print the template directly onto colored tagboard or cardstock instead of using craft foam.
  • Pre-assemble the craft sticks.
  • Or, hand out masking tape to join the sticks together. Then, tape on a stabilizing mini popsicle stick as well.
  • If you don’t want to mess with paint, children could color the dinosaur body with markers. Or, you could even provide colored craft sticks (ad) instead of natural wood ones.

Related: Dinosaur Emergent Readers

If you’re on a dino kick, you may also like my Dinosaur personalized emergent readers.

dinosaur emergent reader

You type in student names, and they ‘magically’ autofill onto every page of the little booklet. Yes, little learners LOVE seeing their own name in print!

page of dinosaur reader with child's name in text

I hope you enjoy your cute dinosaur crafts.

dinosaur craft

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