Let’s make safari crafts for kids! Create this cute set of safari animals with styrofoam cups. Foam cup crafts are a wonderfully fun creative activity for kids of all ages – especially preschoolers, kindergarten and elementary age children.

foam cup safari - purrr!  Foam cup tiger shown with orange and black styrofoam craft completed it is one of three animal crafts out of cups featured in this Kids Activities Blog article
Let’s make safari animals out of cups!

Safari Animal Crafts for Kids Made from Styrofoam Cups

Today we are making a styrofoam cup safari animals: cheeky monkey, styrofoam cup tiger and styrofoam cup giraffe.

Related: More Animal crafts & Farm Animal Bowling Game

These animal crafts made from cups are great fun to make and play with, and are wonderful interactive tools and story starters when teaching kids fun and interesting facts about wild animals.

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Safari Craft- foam cup crafts supplies needed - styrofoam cup, paint, pipe cleaners make a fun animal craft for kids
This is what you will need to make safari animals out of styrofoam cups!

Supplies Needed for Safari Craft

Directions for Disposable Cup Crafts

Safari Craft- animal foam cup crafts - 3 styrofoam cup animals shown - styrofoam cup monkey, styrofoam cup giraffe and a styrofoam cup tiger crafts all completed - Kids Activities Blog
Let’s make cup animals!

Step 1

Just place the styrofoam cups upside down (open end of cup down) on a sheet of newspaper or messy mat and let the kids off to do the rest.

They should start off by painting the cup with the main base colour for the animal. If you are using acrylic paint just one coat will generally do, poster paints might need a second coat.

Step 2

Once dry the kids can first draw on the cup with a pencil if they like or just start painting on the eyes and character details before leaving aside to dry again.

Step 3

While drying the craft scissors can be put to good use cutting the pipe cleaners to the lengths needed for ears and wiggly tails etc.

Foam cups are soft and ideal for kids to push in the pipe cleaners and bend to the shapes they want, so easy, (parents cover over the pointy ends of the pipe cleaners on the inside of the cup with some masking tape or sticky tape to avoid any ouchies later).

So next time you’re at the supermarket pop a packet of foam cups into your trolley – they are the best fun for quick and simple crafting with children.

Yield: 3

Make Tiger, Giraffe & Monkey Using Styrofoam Cups

foam cup crafts

Search your cupboards for some styrofoam cups to transform into these cute safari animal crafts for kids. Make a foam cup tiger, foam cup giraffe and foam cup monkey using paint and pipe cleaners.

Prep Time 10 minutes
Active Time 5 minutes
Total Time 15 minutes
Difficulty Medium
Estimated Cost free

Materials

  • Styrofoam cups
  • Acrylic paint and paint brushes
  • Chenille stems or pipe cleaners

Tools

  • pencil
  • scissors
  • tape

Instructions

  1. Paint the base coat on the styrofoam cup for each animal. Orange for the tiger, light brown for the giraffe and brown for the monkey.
  2. Draw the animal details on the cup.
  3. Paint again inside the animal details.
  4. Cut and add pipe cleaner ears, tails and any other animal details you desire.

Preschool Learning Ideas with Safari Animal Craft

You can also continue the fun by using this cup craft activity as an interactive way to teach kids more about wild animals.

  • What countries you would find giraffes and tigers
  • Giraffe is the world’s tallest land animals, what other tall animals can you think of?
  • What the baby names for wild animals are (e.g, baby giraffe is called a calf, a baby tiger is called a cub)
  • How many different types of monkeys can you name?
  • What do the animals eat?
  • Like human fingerprints, every tiger has a unique pattern of stripes that can be used to identify it! What other animal with stripes can you think of?

Our Experience With This Safari Craft

These safari crafts were not only fun, but educational. And anytime my kids get to paint, they’re happy. But this hands on safari craft let’s you make animals like tigers, monkey, and giraffes. However, you could try your hand to make other animals too like: lions, elephants, zebras.

It’s easy, and children can benefit from from this hands-on activity that will also give them fine motor skills practice.

More Animal Crafts & Fun from Kids Activities Blog

Safari crafts to do after these Styrofoam cup craft
After making your safari craft, make sure to grab these safari coloring pages.

Tiger Crafts & Fun for Kids

Giraffe Crafts & Fun for Kids

Monkey Crafts & Fun for Kids

How did your cup crafts turn out? Did you make a foam cup monkey, foam cup tiger and foam cup giraffe?



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