Turtles are one of the most threatened animals on the planet after years of overhunting and habitat reduction. This makes them the ideal subject for a school report. On top of the research and the written and verbal elements of a report, a visual aspect will help maintain interest. A good way to do this is to make a turtle habitat diorama depicting how the animals live in the wild.
Things You'll Need:
- Scissors
- Modelling Clay
- Paintbrushes
- Shells
- Shoe Box
- Seaweed
- Fake Grass
- Cardboard
- Glue
- Paints
Take the lid off a shoe box and turn it on its side. A shoe box is an ideal size, but any cardboard box can be used.
Fill the bottom of the box with modelling clay and sculpt it into the shape of the ocean floor. Make sure a sloping beach is included on one side of the diorama box. Leave to dry overnight.
Paint the bottom of the box a sandy yellow and gradate the rest of the box from an ocean blue to sky blue to represent the transition between sea and sky. Acrylic paints are the best to use.
Add details to the paints such as trees on the beach side and clouds in the sky. The shadows of other large fish in the ocean can also be use to represent predators of the turtles. Remember to add shipping and fishing boats to the surface of the ocean.
Glue ocean bed litter onto the clay. Shells, seaweed and other items can be used to add depth to the diorama. Fake grass and green cotton wool can be added to the beach and trees to add further three-dimensional elements.
Cut out cardboard turtles and place them at points in the diorama. Remember to add them on the beach as well, as this is where they lay eggs. Other cardboard animals can be added or painted on to show prey and predators of the turtles.
Add as much detail as possible to the diorama in terms of accurate representations of local trees, predators, food sources, plant life and threats to the turtles.
Tip
Remember to think about where the species of turtle being depicted lives and the specific threats to it and incorporate these into the diorama.
