Dioramas have a school project loveliness about them and are wonderfully tactile in this digital age. I’ve been meaning to make a construction site for my son for some time now and was motivated again after organising his toys and seeing all his little yellow diggers together. This project is easy to make and came in at a grand total of $0.00 as I sourced all my materials from around the house and yard. Here’s a step by step guide:
Materials
- Large cardboard box
- Garbage bag
- Stanley knife / scissors
- Tape and glue
- Blue paint + brush
- Several printed sheets of rocks and other construction materials
- A sheet of white paper
- A couple kilos of slightly damp sand
- Small assortment of rocks, paddle-pop sticks, bark etc
- Building site accessories and signs
- Yellow diggers
Instructions
- Cut the box on each side diagonally from the top back corner to approximately 10 cm (4″) above the bottom front corner. Cut along the front and remove this portion of the box so that it resembles a stage.
- Paint the inside walls of the box a sky blue colour.
- Cut a plastic garbage bag to size and secure firmly to the base of the diorama with tape, making the bottom of the box water resistant.
- Cut out white clouds from a sheet of paper and glue to the blue sky.
- Glue the construction site imagery around the bottom inside wall of the diorama.
- Fill the box with a layer of slightly damp sand and pat smooth.
- Arrange accessories and diggers on sand.
This diorama was loads of fun to make and a big hit with my son. The possibilities are endless; zoo, farm, space station, jurassic…
That is gorgeous! I just turf my kids outside into the sandpit with their diggers, but with all this rain, I might need to bring the outdoors in….
what a great idea ,and best of all did not cost money
Love it!
oh wow! a day never passes in our household without mention by our toddler of: mini excavator, crane, big rig, concrete mixer, digger, fork lift, steam roller… i’ve learnt to articulate well on the subject of all things ‘construction site’ since having a boy! i am definitely going to try this for sure. with winter on the way – this is a great one for indoors!
Wow! That is one impressive construction site. My son would love it. (:
That’s awesome. We’re not into the diggers yet, but race cars are huge. I see a cardboard box racing venue in my near future.
This is such a great idea! I will have to remember this when I have little ones 🙂
Omg this is so cool, can’t wait until my little chap is a bit older to make something like this! I used to love making these when I was a kid, mainly little forests with animals. Happy days! Xx
Sunshine Award Nomination
Thanks so much for this great idea! I found it via Pinterest and my son and I spent a very happy afternoon recreating your construction site diorama, we both loved it!
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This is so smart! I want to be a kid again just so I can play with a diorama.
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May I know where the construction signs are from? What brand are they? Thank you!
Hi Fer, the signs just came from a packet in the local dollar store. Very cheap and cheerful. They can also be used as cake decorations.
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