Dung Beetle Paper Plate Craft
If your preschooler loves bugs, messes, and anything remotely gross, this one’s for you. The dung beetle paper plate craft is equal parts silly and fascinating, and surprisingly educational once you get past the fact that, yes, this bug is pushing around a ball of poop.
It’s the perfect mix of “hands-on fun” and “quiet time while we craft,” with just enough weirdness to keep little ones totally hooked. So grab a paper plate, some paint, and maybe a baby wipe or five…we’re about to get buggy.
Materials Needed for This Dung Beetle Craft
You probably have most of this stuff floating around in your junk drawer or craft bin already. Here’s the list:
- 2 paper plates
- Brown construction paper
- Yellow and brown paint (or crayons)
- Black marker
- Scissors
- Paintbrush
- Glue stick
- Googly eyes (or just draw ‘em)
- Red paper
- Template
No brown paint? Mix red, yellow, and blue. Missing something? Improvise. This is crafting, not rocket science.
Let’s Make a Dung Beetle (and Its… um, Ball)
Ready to get crafting? Find the instructions below!
Dung Beetle Paper Plate Craft
This adorable paper plate dung beetle craft for kids uses our free printable template to walk you through each step! A perfect addition to bug units or earth science activities.
Materials
- 2 Paper plates
- Brown construction paper
- Black marker
- Glue stick
- Googly eyes
- Yellow and brown paint
- Template
Tools
- Scissors
- Paintbrush
Instructions
- Gather your supplies.
- Cut your paper plate in half and paint it brown. Let it dry completely.
- Use the template to cut out six legs and one round head from brown construction paper.
- Glue the legs onto the back of the brown paper plate half. Flip it over and glue the head on the front of the paper plate.
- Glue on the googly eyes on the dung beetle's head.
- Cut and glue a red smile onto the beetle’s face.
- Use a black marker to draw curved lines across the beetle's back.
- Cut a second paper plate into a bumpy circle for the dung ball.
- Paint the dung ball brown and let it dry.
- Use a black marker to add swirl lines all over the dung ball.
- Glue the beetle so its back legs are touching the dung ball.
- Let everything dry, and your dung beetle craft is complete!
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Let Kids Make It Their Own
No two dung beetles need to look the same (thank goodness). Here are some wild ways to personalize your dung beetle craft:
- Wiggly Legs: Use brads to make the legs move!
- Texture Time: Add tissue paper, felt, or pompoms to make a bumpy bug or chunky dung ball.
- Eco Style: Use newspaper, cereal boxes, or whatever you can rescue from the recycling bin.
- Go Wild With Color: Who says dung beetles have to be brown? Make a rainbow beetle that lives in space.
- Natural Add-Ons: Glue on twigs for legs or leaves as wings, straight from the backyard!
Ask your kid: “What would your dung beetle look like if it lived in a jungle? What about a spaceship?” You’ll be amazed what they come up with.
Weirdly Cool Dung Beetle Facts for Kids
This is the part where you pretend you didn’t just Google “what does a dung beetle actually do?” No worries, we’ve got you covered:
- Dung beetles roll up balls of, you guessed it, animal poop. They use it for food and for making little nurseries for their babies.
- They’re super strong. Some can roll balls 50 times their own weight! That’s like your kid pushing a minivan.
- Dung beetles live all over the world, everywhere except Antarctica (because frozen poop is less exciting, probably).
- They’re actually great for the environment! Nature’s cleanup crew, right here.
Now ask your kid: “What would you roll if you were a dung beetle?” Prepare for a hilarious answer.
Still got crafting energy to burn? Head over to our paper plate craft collection for more brilliant chaos that's a lot less… poop-y.
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