This paper plate dinosaur craft is the perfect project for little dinosaur fans! All you need are basic craft supplies: craft paper, glue & a paper plate!

Nearly every animal on this planet has a special day dedicated to it, either internationally or specific to countries. The purpose of these days is usually to raise awareness about the current status, especially of endangered species, promote steps to help improve their populations or living conditions and reduce cruelty.

Well, if that’s the case, creatures that are already extinct don’t need special days, do they?

Not if the creature in question is a dinosaur! Dinosaurs are so cool that we have two days to celebrate them – Dinosaur Day is observed both on the third Tuesday in May as well as on the 1st of June. So if we’re not talking about protecting dinosaurs, what is this day all about?

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What is the purpose of National Dinosaur Day?

Cute Paper Plate Dinosaur Craft for Kids

Supplies required:

How to make the Paper Plate Dinosaur Craft:

What is the purpose of National Dinosaur Day?

It promotes more study into dinosaurs and why they went extinct – there is still a lot that we don’t know
The day promotes an appreciation of our ancient natural history, and of the people that study it
It is an opportunity for people to connect with others who share the same interest in dinosaurs
Dinosaur Day encourages kids to look at paleontology as a career option

So, how are we going to celebrate Dinosaur Day? We could read dinosaur books, play a dinosaur-themed I Spy game, put together a dinosaur puzzle, dress up in a dinosaur costume or just make a cute paper plate dinosaur craft – we’ll show you how!

Cute Paper Plate Dinosaur Craft for Kids

Supplies required:

Plain paper plate, regular-sized
Craft paper in different colors
Sharpies or markers
Scissors
Glue

How to make the Paper Plate Dinosaur Craft:

1. Download and print the paper plate dinosaur craft template.

2. Let’s start by getting our base ready. Take out your paper plate and find out where the center of the plate is.

3. Cut the paper plate along the center so you have two semi-circles. You only need one for this paper plate dinosaur craft.

4. Trace the parts of the paper plate dinosaur craft template onto craft paper of the appropriate colors and cut them out. The template includes parts of the dinosaur, like the head, tail, legs, feet, eye, spikes and spots.

5. Stick the eye in the middle of the dinosaur’s head. Attach the feet to the ends of the legs with glue.

6. Depending upon the colors you’ve chosen for the parts of the paper plate dinosaur craft, choose a color to paint your paper plate semi-circle. Once the paint dries, stick on any spots our dino may have.

7. Time to add the spikes! Attach them to the top of the paper plate with glue, lining them up in a row from front to back.

8. Every dinosaur needs a head and tail, so go ahead and fix them to the paper plate with glue!

9. We’re almost done! Apply some glue to the lower edge of the paper plate and fix the legs.

10. Time for the finishing touches! Take out your markers and add some facial features for the dinosaur, and more spots if you like. That’s it – your paper plate dinosaur craft is done!

It’s fun to make this craft in different colors, and you can experiment with a multicolored dinosaur too! If you’re having a dinosaur-theme party for Dinosaur Day, you can include this craft as one of the activities. Simply lay out all the different parts and paper plates, and let the kids create their own dinosaurs. You can also put up a dinosaur puppet show and let the kids have a great time!

If you enjoyed this paper plate dinosaur craft, you may also like these animal paper plate crafts: