Paper Tube Dinosaur Puppets

We’ll get to paper tube dinosaur puppets in a minute, but first, can we take a moment to appreciate fall? The world has finally decided to stop burning up, and I can wear long pants comfortably again. The oven is no longer my enemy, and the kids can go down the slides at the park without third degree burns. All is right in the world.

This is also the time of year when it begins to rain again, trapping us inside (I’m not complaining — at least it’s cool!). These paper tube dinosaurs are a result of lots of indoor time with kids. They are both dino obsessed, Alex with T-rexes, and Faith with triceratops. She calls them “tops,” which is pretty darn cute.

You can see their influence in these puppet designs — a T-rex, a pteranodon (never a pterodactyl in this house), and a triceratops. The craft itself is extremely simple — print, cut, glue/tape, and go. Then, your littles can put on a show, or just make their new dino friends eat grass or other dinosaurs or whatever their little heart desires.

Paper Tube Dinosaur Puppets, Step-by-Step

Materials

printable template (T-rex, pteranodon, and triceratops)
glue or tape
empty toilet paper tube
scissors
popsicle stick

To start, cut out your dinosaur printable. For the T-rex and the triceratops, you’ll only have one square piece. The pteranodon also has two wings to cut out.

Next, glue or tape your large square tightly around the toilet paper tube. I prefer taping because it seems to hold better, and it doesn’t distort the printable.

If you’re doing the T-rex or the triceratops, you can skip to the last step now. For the pteranodon, you’ll need to add the wings. I fold the top of the wing over about 1/4″, then tape them to the front. I add a dab of glue to the underside of the wing so that it lies flat.