Egg carton sugar glider craft

Here’s a fun way to upcycle an ordinary old egg carton into an adorable sugar glider craft. Make him flatten his body and glide around the room – so cute!

This is a fun Australian animal craft idea for kids which in turn becomes a DIY toy and is a great recycling craft for Earth Day too.

Australia has an abundance of adorable animals, but you have to admit that certain species tend to get all the glory. Yes, I know, you don’t get much cuter than a koala or a little baby joey in it’s mama’s pouch, but there are some animals like our friend the Sugar Glider who are often forgotten.

Not today. Here is a cute Sugar Glider craft to make from an egg carton. Younger kids will need some help cutting the pieces out and hot gluing them, but they will have no trouble with the painting and decorating part.

Just so you know exactly what animal I’m talking about I’ve included a photo of a real one (stock image) and there are a few cool Sugar glider facts for kids below too that you can discuss whilst you make the craft. Too cute, right?

Fun Sugar glider facts for kids

• • Sugar gliders are tiny! They are usually 16-21cm (approx 6-8″) in length so this egg carton version is larger than life
  • The name glider comes from their amazing ability to leap from tree branches and stretch their bodies out like a flying carpet. They can glide this way for up to 50 metres (165 feet), even being able to change direction mid-air by using their tail as a rudder to steer them around
  • They have a thick membrane of skin which stretches from their fifth finger to their ankle, enabling them to catch the air like a parachute and glide
  • They have a strong population which is widely distributed along the northern and eastern cost of Australia, and can also be found in Tasmania, Papua New Guinea and Indonesia 
  • Sugar gliders are nocturnal marsupials, carrying their babies in pouches and then on their back for around 10 weeks. They commonly have twins
  • They live and sleep in large family groups called clans, which contain up to seven adults and thier young. The clans are playful and social when they are together but will defend their territory fiercely to other sugar glider clans
  • They feed on insects, eucalyptus sap, and the nectar of flowers
  • Sugar gliders are gaining popularity in the exotic pet trade, especially in North America, being dubbed “pocket pets”

How to make an egg carton sugar glider craft

You will need:

• An egg carton
• Scissors
• Acrylic paint
• Hot glue gun
• A scrap of paper
• Black marker
• Glue stick

How to:

Cut the egg carton up into pieces, the best way to explain how is with the video tutorial above.

Here is a photograph of the finished pieces ready to be assembled. The feet are made of the sides of the flat piece including the bend, which have been cut into toes. The tail is the flap which closes the carton. The body is the middle section of the flat piece. The ears are made from a scrap of the flat piece. The head is made from two cups joined together with the pointy bit still attached, trimmed down to size.

Use a hot glue gun to stick the pieces together.

Paint it with acrylic paints. I’ve attempted to stick to a simplified version of the actual markings of the sugar glider.

A lot of kids would probably to prefer to get creative and paint it however they like though, that is fine – there are no rules!

Draw two eyes which are roughly the size of the inner circle. You can just guestimate it, the eyes I drew are maybe a millimetre or two wider than the inner circle when glued inside, which is fine. It doesn’t need to be perfect. Use a glue stick to glue the eyes into place.

…and that’s all there is to it! This little sugar glider is ready to play.

More Australian animal crafts for kids:

• Create a frilled neck lizard from a recycled paper roll
• Here is an adorable printable paper plate possum craft
• Got cicada shells? Why not create some cool neon cicada shells using nail polish
• These printable paper chain pythons are pretty cool – and don’t worry they don’t bite!
• This printable paper frog craft is based on the green tree frog from Tropical North QLD
• Here is an easy paper plate cassowary to cut out and put together