mayflower

There are a lot of common ways to make a shoebox diorama and they include tape, glue, construction paper and all the regular assortment of arts and crafts stuff but there are a few things you can do to make a diorama just a little bit special.

Cut slots in the back and top of the box and use this to insert objects that you can move across the diorama. Make a bird, boat, comet or some other type of moving object then attach a tab to the back of it. Insert this tab in the slot then you can grab the tab from the back and slide the object across the diorama. This adds a nice little interactive element. This works well with all kinds of things from a rising sun, flying bird, erupting volcano or just about anything else that would move. Think outside the shoebox!


 And there is no need to make a typical shoebox shape. Be creative in the shape you make. It adds a dimension of interest to the project. Half round, amphitheatre shapes are commonly used for dioramas and look great. Achieving Depth ?The most common trait of an average shoebox diorama is that it has a decorated background and objects placed on the bottom surface. You can add an attractive touch by decorating a strip of paper that is about two inches wide with a foliage pattern then attach this to the inside bottom of the diorama about an inch from the back wall - it reaches all the way from the left side to the right side. This adds a lot of depth and makes it look much more interesting. Using alternate materials ?


 If you are doing a desert scene you can apply glue to the bottom of the diorama and sprinkle real sand on it. Theme Ideas and Learning Tools The biggest point of a shoebox diorama is to show a natural habitat of something. In the process of drawing and cutting out the various objects a child is learning about the habitat. This is great but you can take it to new levels with a little thought and a little creativity. Freezing a moment in time ?A diorama is a moment in time and you can focus on this. Some good examples are you can have a meteor streaking across the sky of a dinosaur diorama; this explains a theory of extinction. Or you can show a large predator fish about to eat a smaller fish as it is eating something even smaller.

 This dramatic moment in time is a good display of the food chain. Interactions in a habitat ?The focus of a diorama is often to correctly identify and place the right objects for a natural habitat but you can take this to a new level by focusing on the interactions within the habitat.