How to Make an Ostrich Habitat Diorama

Position the shoebox so it is laying down on one of the widest sides.This provides an adequate setting with a top, bottom and background for your ostrich habitat.

Paint the bottom inside of the shoebox --- the part that sits on the table top --- with a tan or light brown acrylic paint and a craft paintbrush. Allow the paint to dry. This depicts the open, grassy plain area where most ostriches live.

Cover the back and top inside sections with blue acrylic paint to represent the sky and background. Allow the blue paint time to dry before continuing.

Pull a few cotton balls with your fingers to create wispy clouds. Glue them with school or craft glue in random spots on the blue background near the top. Allow time for the clouds to dry.

Find a couple of twigs that are basically straight and have an angled twig or two jutting out to represent barren trees in the short grass plain. Attach them to the blue background with the glue. Cut a few tiny leaves out of green construction paper with scissors. Glue them to the twigs to represent a few leaves if you desire.

Paint three or four sprigs of grass onto the bottom section of the diorama background. Do this with a fan brush and green acrylic paint. Another option is to cut sections out of an old craft paintbrush shorter than others to give a grass-like effect on the background.This represents the short grass growing on the plain.

Form the ostrich body with a plastic Easter egg. Cut the faux fur so it covers a side view of the plastic egg, the back section will be attached to the background and will not show. Glue the faux fur on the egg to represent the feathers on the ostrich. Male ostriches are black with white spots and female ostriches are a grayish-brown color.

Glue the faux fur-covered egg to the blue background near the center so there is room for the legs and head. Allow the egg to dry onto the box.

Form two legs out of a pink or beige pipe cleaner cut in thirds with the scissors. Ostriches only have two toes, therefore form the toes in a V-shape by bending one end of the piper cleaner. Glue the legs underneath the ostrich body.

Shape an ostrich neck and head out of the leftover third of the pipe cleaner. Bend it in a loose S-shape and fold down the top end to form the ostrich head. Draw a black dot with the marker on the folded down section to represent one eye of the ostrich. Attach it to the top, front section of the fur-covered egg with glue. Allow all your art work to dry thoroughly before transporting your ostrich habitat diorama.