Paper penguin craft

Create a paper penguin using our latest printable template. It’s super easy to cut out and glue together and comes in both full colour or black and white so you can colour your own.

This is a fun paper craft for kids which is perfect for Winter-themed crafting.

You can get your copy of the template here.

How adorable are penguins? I have great admiration for how they can just stand there in freezing blizzards protecting their precious egg from touching the ground. If you or I were standing there next to them we probably wouldn’t survive!

Let’s learn a bit more about penguins whilst we make the craft. Here are a few fascinating penguin facts for kids:

Fascinating penguin facts for kids:

Penguins are able to survive the harshest Winter environments on earth. In the Antarctic Winter they stand exposed to temperatures of -30ºc (-22ºF) and below, enduring winds of up to 200km/h (125mph). Some species even manage to breed in these conditions!
To help keep warm, they have a thick layer of fat as well as a thick layer of feathers which act as insulation
There are no penguins living at the North Pole. Apart from the Galapagos Island penguin (which occasionally pokes it’s nose north of the equator), they can only be found in the Southern Hemisphere
Not all penguins live in ice and snow. Whilst they are found in the harsh Winter climate of Antarctica, there are more species that live in warmer places such as Australia, New Zealand, Chile, Argentina and South Africa
Penguins have wings which are like flippers. They can’t fly, but they can speed through the water using their wings to propel them
Penguins eat krill, fish, squid and other sea creatures
They are able to drink sea water, which they can’t help getting a mouth full of every time they go fishing. A gland located below their eye filters salt from their blood stream, which is then excreted through their bill or by sneezing
Their black and white colouring is a very effective camouflage for when they are in the water. If a predator is above them looking down, their black blends into the darkness of the deep water, and if they are below them looking up, their white tummies blend into the bright surface lit by sunlight
Penguins spend half of their life in the water and half of it on land
Penguin’s biggest predators are sharks, orcas and leopard seals

Now it’s time to make our paper penguin craft!

How to make a paper penguin:

You will need:

The penguin template printed onto ordinary white paper, available in both our printables store and TPT store
Markers, pencils or crayons if colouring your own
Glue stick
Scissors

How To:

Print the template onto plain white paper. Colour in if using the colour your own template.

Cut out the shapes.

Fold the head and wings forward along the straight lines.

Glue the top part of the body to the base, matching the square tummy on the top part to the white space above the feet on the base.

Fold the feet forward.

Glue the tab next to the tail and flex the base into a circular shape and glue into place. Your penguin is finished and should now stand up on his own.

All done! Although penguins do love to hang around in flocks, so you’ll have to make a few more.

More 3D animal printables for kids:

Make a 3D polar bear portrait to hang on the wall
This fun paper frog template is based on the Green Tree frog found in Northern Australia
Create the cutest family of paper guinea pigs with our freebie template
These paper chain python snakes look almost real
Get this set of adorable cube bugs, perfect for Spring-themed crafting!