This basic tutorial is great for younger makers & beginners in paper crafting. Our template has a blank dice so you can make your own with custom animals and also one with 8 color-able animals from our nature exhibit- Nature Works.

Ways to Play:

You can use it to play the game with younger kids as an "animal action" game with animal movements.
You can play with older kids as an animal trivia game.
You can make 2 or more dice and make a cryptozoology drawing game. Add features of your 2+ animals together to form a new creature.

Concepts for mini makers: We are making 3 dimensional shapes from 2 dimensional paper. 3d means something that has a shape you can hold like a cube. 2d means something that is flat like a square. Our 2d paper will make a 3d shape when we fold them and tape them. The shape of the dice is called an Octahedron. An octahedron has eight sides (or faces). Oct = 8, like octagon or octopus.

Animal actions & facts:

1. Box Turtle- hide in your shell

Box turtles can grow to the size of 8 inches. They are native to MO & KS. You can tell if a box turtle is male or female by looking at the eyes. Males have bright red eyes; females have brown or gray eyes.

2. Blind Cave Fish- make a fish face

The blind cave fish has skin covered with a layer of scales arranged in head-to-tail pattern, similar to shingles on a roof. Blind cave fish compensate for their lack of sight by having a more sensitive lateral line system which detects vibrations or changes in pressure in the water.

3. Jenday Conure- flap those wings

One of the smallest parrot species. Native to Brazil and lives in flocks of 30 birds. They nest in the cavities of trees.

4. Panther Chameleon- stick out your tongue

Chameleons have eyes that swivel. When a chameleon is cold, it will become darker in color. Dark colors attract heat better than light ones. Chameleons have a lightning-fast tongue. It flashes out to 26 times the length of its body to snatch insects.

5. Corn Snake- slither

Corn Snakes are native to MO & KS. Also known as a Red Rat Snake. They can range in length from 18 to 44 inches.

6. Saltwater Crab- scuttle

Crabs are decapod crustaceans which have a very short tail and are covered with a thick shell, or exoskeleton and are armed with a single pair of claws. There are over 6,793 species of crab spread across the oceans, fresh water, and even on land.

7. Cane Toad- hop

Also known as a marine toad. These very large toads are an invasive species in many countries. They are poisonous, secreting a toxic liquid when threatened.

8. Madagascar Hissing Cockroach- hiss

Madagascar Hissing Cockroaches can grow up to 2.5 inches long. Each Madagascar Hissing Cockroach has its own characteristic sound, and the cockroaches can distinguish between each other's hisses.

Supplies

Printed template- blank or NW Animal templates
Coloring utensils
Tape/glue

Step 1: Decorate the Dice

You can color in our animal drawings or draw animals of your own.

Step 2: Cut & Fold the Dice

Cut around the lines on the outside of the template. Now you have a 2d octahedron & need to make it 3d. Fold along every solid line as straight as possible. You can use a ruler or a table edge to help get your folds straight.

Step 3: Tape the Dice Into a 3D Shape

Start tucking the curved tabs underneath the flat edges (see image 1), tape them into place. As you tuck and tape in place more and more tabs your paper will transform from a flat (2D) object into a 3d object. Once you finish taping all the sides together you can play with your dice.

You're done making your dice, now you can play.