I have 8 desert craft ideas for you. Also you’ll love these other ideas on my post Desert Sand Art (Colors of the Desert).
And I have a fun tutorial that teaches you how to make egg carton cactus.
Cactus is of course easily one of the most identifiable symbols of the desert.
They offer food and shelter to many desert dwelling species and are drought tolerant.
Well, not all cacti are exclusive to deserts, some are rainforest adapted.
You will see them peppered throughout the deserts of the world.
While a desert may seem barren there is plenty to learn about it.
Books About Deserts for Kids
18 Desert Books & Resources for Kids Who Love Reading and Being Read To
Add some of these living books and references books about the desert to your library.
Children's reader on the subject of deserts and what lives there Large book with very large kid friendly illustrations
It is another hot day in the desert. Birds and other animals scurry about looking for food. When they get tired they stop to rest at a giant cactus. It is their hotel in the desert!Many different animals live in the cactus hotel. It protects them; and they protect it, by eating the pests that could harm the cactus.The cactus grows larger and larger and will live for about two hundred years. When one animal moves out, another moves in. There is never a vacancy in the cactus hotel.This story--about a desert, a giant cactus, and the animals who live in it--is one that even the youngest child will understand and enjoy.
A venerable saguaro cactus stands like a statue in the hot desert landscape, its armlike branches reaching fifty feet into the air. From a distance it appears to be completely still and solitary--but appearances can be deceptive. In fact, this giant tree of the desert is alive with activity. Its spiny trunk and branches are home to a surprising number of animals, and its flowers and fruit feed many desert dwellers. Gila woodpeckers and miniature elf owls make their homes inside the saguaro's trunk. Long-nosed bats and fluttering white doves drink the nectar from its showy white flowers. People also play a role in the saguaro's story: each year the Tohono O'odham Indians gather its sweet fruit in a centuries-old harvest ritual.
Imagine over three million square miles of sand dunes that are as tall as a ten-story building. That place is real -- it's the Sahara Desert! Vast, yes! And home to fascinating creatures such as ostriches and fennec foxes as well as amazing plant life. The shallow roots of the mesquite tree can grow almost 200 feet across to absorb water. Readers will also learn about the famous trade routes of the past with caravans of up to 10,000 camels, European explorers to the region (some very unlucky ones), and native populations like the Berber and Tuareg, the faces of the men are blue from the dye in the veils they always wear.
Antarctica, the earth's southernmost continent, was virtually untouched by humans until the nineteenth century. Many famous explorers journeyed (and often died) there in the hope of discovering a land that always seemed out of reach. This book introduces readers to this desert--yes, desert!--continent that holds about 90 percent of the world's ice; showcases some of the 200 species that call Antarctica home, including the emperor penguin; and discusses environmental dangers to the continent, underscoring how what happens to Antarctica affects the entire world.
In the early morning hours, an artist stirs. Gathering her paints and notebook, she heads into the Arizona Sonoran Desert to explore its treasures. Sketching, painting, and writing, she records all that she sees and as night falls, she spreads out her pictures to make this scrapbook of her day, from dawn to dusk.
Surveys the living conditions in Arizona's Sonora Desert for the people and unusual animals that live there. Also describes the engineering accomplishment of Hoover Dam.
In Desert Solitaire, Edward Abbey recounts his many escapades, adventures, and epiphanies as an Arches National Park ranger outside Moab, Utah. Brimming with arresting insights, impassioned arguments for wilderness conservation, and a raconteur’s wit, it is one of Abbey’s most critically acclaimed works. Through stories and philosophical musings, Abbey reflects on the condition of our remaining wilderness, the future of a civilization, and his own internal struggle with morality. As the world continues its rapid development, Abbey’s cry to maintain the natural beauty of the West remains just as relevant today as when this book first appeared in 1968.
While the rest of the animals hide from view from a group of rambunctious coyotes, the fearless gang takes full advantage of the open space of Cactus Canyon and participates with great zeal in an array of nighttime activities, but an unexpected encounter with a rattlesnake quickly puts an end to the coyotes fun as they are sent running for cover, too!
Marian called it Roxaboxen. There across the road, it looked like any rocky hill—nothing but sand and rocks, and some old wooden boxes. But it was a special place. And all children needed to go there was a long stick and a soaring imagination.
n this latest installation of the Cat in the Hat's Learning Library, the Cat takes Sally and Dick to explore different kinds of deserts around the world, from the hot, dry Sonoran and Mojavi to the bitter cold Gobi and Antarctica. Young readers learn why deserts are dry, and how plants and animals—including cactus, kangaroos, camels, penguins, roadrunners, and many others—have adapted to survive the unforgiving climate. Also included: how sand dunes are formed; the reason we see mirages, and how shallow water beneath the surface of the ground can create an oasis. Fans of the new PBS preschool science show The Cat in the Hat Knows a Lot About That! (which is based on the Learning Library series) won't want to miss this hot new addition to the series!
‘A wounded mountain lion moves from his mountain habitat to a Papago Indian hut in Arizona’s Sonoran desert during a record-breaking July day. All creation adapts to the blistering heat until a cloudburst causes a flash flood. With a measured yet vivid style, this introduction to desert ecology makes a memorable impact."
This intriguing yet simple description will captivate young readers who have an interest in the unfamiliar.
Take a walk through the desert. This hot, dry biome of the southwest is full of life. How do plants and animals of the desert live? As you wander through the desert, discover how each and every plant and animal relies on the others to live and grow.
Learn about the fascinating creatures of the desert Southwest including: Venomous Animals Insects and Arthropods Rattlesnakes, Lizards, Desert Tortoise The Roadrunner and other Birds Bighorn Sheep, Kit Fox, Coyote.
Now in its fourth edition, this is a beautiful book with both historical and contemporary images showing the most important plants used by Native Americans. Medicinal, food resources, tools and shelter are just some of the uses discussed. Plants shown and described are among the most widespread plants in the desert Southwest.
Learn all about desert snakes with the beautiful book by James W. Cornett.
An excellent introduction to the natural history of the Namib Desert of southwest Africa. At its heart, second only to the Atacama Desert of Chile and Peru as the driest place on Earth. Also, it is the oldest desert on our planet and the only desert with a megafauna including elephant, giraffe, and rhinoceros. The lofty orange dunes, highest in the world, are also shown and discussed.
Your study can include cacti as well as animals like camels and desert lizards, mirages, and extreme temperatures.
Also, learn the fact that there are hot deserts as well as cold deserts, sandstorms, and learn about different types of sand that are in each desert.
Will you concentrate on one desert, or will you learn about a few characteristics of each?
Either way I have a wonderful batch of desert craft ideas to add that will make it fun and memorable.
Gather up your cardboard egg cartons and let’s also make an egg carton cactus that truly never has to be watered or tended to but makes an adorable addition to a desk or shelf.
8 Desert Craft Ideas
- Make a Desert In A Box: Biome Diorama and work your way through learning about the soil, flora, and fauna of a desert.
- Create a little desert inside an upcycled carton with this Egg Carton Desert.
- Incorporate more than one of the 5 senses with a Desert Dough sensory bin.
- Design a beautiful and colorful desert backdrop with the Desert Sand Art: Day 2 Hands-on Learning (Colors of the Desert).
- This cute and simple Cactus Popsicle Stick Crafts is a great idea for multiple age groups and is one of those low prep activities we love.
- Explore the senses and let your child Make Your Own Cactus Play Dough Activity, creating different sizes, shapes and looks for their cacti, just like those that occur in nature.
- We can’t explore the desert without learning about some of the creatures that make their home there like our humped friend, try out the Popsicle Stick Camel Craft.
- Paint a gorgeous desert sky using the techniques in the Watercolor Silhouette Landscape
While you are learning about cacti another great activity is to taste test an edible variety, look at my Exploring Edible Cactus: Day 4 Hands-on Learning (The Desert) and use another of your senses for learning.
How To Make Egg Carton Cactus
You will need:
- Cardboard egg cartons
- Toothpicks
- Green paint
- Pink and yellow tissue paper
- Hot glue gun/sticks
- Small jar or pot
- Rocks or pebbles
First, cut the top off your egg carton. And separate it from the bottom.
Then cut straight down the middle of the two rows.
It’s impossible to put this together without getting any gaps.
But we’re going to work it together a little bit by shifting one of the halves slightly up so that the points fit into the valleys of the other piece.
This is going to give you a gap at the top and bottom. It won’t matter at the bottom because that’s going to go in the pot.
For the top, trim off a little bit of the excess. Until it is just slightly longer than the other side. But be sure it touches because we’re going to hot glue it together to cover the gap.
Next, hot glue the edges together all the way around. I found it much easier to do the interlocking side. And then lift it up gently and do the straight side a little bit at a time.
Hold together until the glue hardens. Glue by pressing the top two pieces together with glue and holding until it sets.
You can also use a little bit of the hot glue to fill in any holes.
Now paint the entire thing in a shade of green you like. Be sure to get in all the little bumps and divots. Allow to dry completely.
Once dry, you can begin poking toothpicks wherever you like in the cactus to create spikes.
Ball up some tissue paper or paper bag into the bottom of your pot. If needed to fill up some of the space. And then add a little hot glue and press your cactus into it, holding until it hardens.
You can either just pour some small rocks around it or you can stir some gravel with some school glue and pour around it.
This will harden into a solid piece which will prevent rocks from being scattered across the floor if your child wants to keep their project.
It also gives weight, so it doesn’t tip over easily.
Tear off small bits of tissue paper and ball them up to make flowers. These wherever you want around the cactus. We used them to cover a few spots that were not as pretty and small gaps.
