DLTK's Crafts for Kids
Dinosaur Pinwheel Crafts
Pinwheels are a fun craft and also a way to introduce the idea of wind power to young children.
You can use the templates I've provided or design your own using:
- construction paper or decorated paper
 
Materials:
- paper,
 - printer,
 - something to color with,
 - pencil with eraser at the end (unsharpened is best, I think)
 - push pin or straight pin
 - Optional: a small bead (like a pony bead).
 
Instructions:
- Fold on the dashed line to make a square decorated on both sides.
 - Note: At this point, you can put a piece of thin cardboard or construction paper between the two halves to make your pinwheel a bit sturdier.
 - Glue the sides so you have a square decorated on both sides.
 - Cut on the diagonal dotted lines (don't cut all the way into the middle).
 - Bend each corner to the center dot, but don’t crease your folds.
 - Push a pin through the center into the eraser of a pencil (don't push it super tight).
 - Optional: Put a bead in between the eraser and the paper ... some people find it spins a bit better this way... I've never noticed the difference (maybe it's the type of pencil eraser? I use fresh, unsharpened school pencils).
 - Blow the edge of your pinwheel to make it spin (if it doesn't spin, loosen your pin a little or wiggle it around to make the hole in the paper bigger)
 
Templates:
- Close the template window after printing to return to this screen.
 - Set page margins to zero if you have trouble fitting the template on one page (FILE, PAGE SETUP or FILE, PRINTER SETUP in most browsers).
 
Brontosaurus Pinwheel Template color or B&W
Stegosaurus Pinwheel Template color or B&W
Triceratops Pinwheel Template color or B&W
T-Rex Pinwheel Template color or B&W
Print friendly version of these instructions