Habitat in a Shoe Box Project

Decorate the Outside of the Shoebox

• Remove the lid from a shoebox. Decide which type of habitat you wish to create. Paint the outside of the box with tempera or acrylic paints, and also paint the lid. Paint blues for ocean, browns for desert, greens for forest and whites for arctic habitats. Add details with markers if you desire.

Create a Window for Your Habitat

• Draw a rectangle in the center of the shoebox lid for your habitat window. Cut the rectangle out with scissors or a utility knife; adults should not let small children perform this step. Turn the lid over and tape a piece of plastic wrap over the window. The lid will be the sky of your habitat. Paint around the window on the inside of the lid, using appropriate sky colors.

Decorate the Inside Walls of the Shoebox

• Decorate the inside four walls of the box in a way that reflects the habitat you would like to replicate. Ocean habitats should be painted mostly in shades of blue, whereas desert habitats should be painted in different shades of brown. Cut out magazine pictures of habitat creatures, animals and plants and glue them to the habitat walls.

Decorate Your Habitat Floor

• Decorate your habitat floor and ceiling. If you have environmental materials from your habitat, such as sand for a desert habitat or leaves for a wooded one, scatter or glue these to the surface; for ocean habitats, use paint instead. Next, include your accessory creatures to the habitat, which may consist of plastic or clay animals, people, insects and silk plants; arrange these in a way that reflects the way these creatures live in the habitat, and glue them into place. When you are satisfied with the look of your habitat replace the lid, and allow children and others to view the habitat through the plastic window.