Lately, we are seeing more and more news about the death of animals and marine wildlife from all over the world. A young whale was found dead recently in the Philippines with 40kg of plastic stuffed in his stomach; earlier this year in Sabah, a whale shark was starved to death as a result of ingesting a large plastic bag; based on an article published by WWF in 2018, it was said that the number of seabirds dying as a result of plastic was estimated at 1 million a year. Shocking?
Well, stories like these will continue to emerge at an alarming rate, unfortunately, if we don’t start taking precautionary measures right now.
Paying The Price
Heavy Topics, Easy Learning
We owe it to our future generation to teach them the importance of taking good care of the oceans, and on the whole, the earth too. Children learn by getting hands-on, and what better way to learn about the oceans by making an ocean diorama? Using creative print-technology, parents can take the opportunity to share about the many different kinds of sea creatures and our roles in taking care of the oceans, hopefully, this little project will inspire the little ones to want to go out there and do more to keep the oceans and the beaches clean! So without further ado, let’s get to it!
Here’s what we need to make ocean diorama box:
Some coloured cardstocks or paper,
HP printer,
A shoebox,
Tape,
Thread,
Scissors or craft knife,
Crayons, markers, and paints,
Glue,
Glitter.
Step 1 Get Your Stage Ready
Get a shoebox or something bigger, this will be the stage of your ocean scene.
Step 2 Colour Me Blue
Paint or colour the backdrop of the box in shades of blues, and the ocean floor in sandy browns; when the paint dries, brush the inner surfaces of the box with clear glue and sprinkle glitter over them for some 3D sparkly effect.
Step 3 Print Out Templates
Now print out the templates of marine life, rocks, scuba divers, submarine, etc (read on! Templates available below) on to the cardstocks, if you don’t have any, just print them out on normal paper and paste the templates onto a thin cardboard such as those from an old cereal box!
Step 4 Paint Away
Using paint, crayons, or markers, decorate and colour the ocean life and plants. You may also draw and paint your version of seaweed, corals, and favourite fish!
Step 5 Cut Out One By One
You may now cut out the individual pictures.
Step 6 Let Them Come To Life!
Now it is high time to decorate your very own ocean diorama box! Hang the sea animals, submarine, and scuba diver in the box using tape and thread. Don’t forget to tape your seaweed and coral to the ocean floor too. And voila!
How Can I Help?
A cleaner ocean means we can enjoy swimming at the beach, fishing in the lake, and splashing water in the stream. Discuss with your children in what ways they can help keep the oceans clean. Here are a few ideas to get your conversation going – organize a beach clean-up with family and friends; cut down or avoid using plastic bags, instead, introduce them to BYOB (Bring Your Own Bag/Bottle!); and never throw rubbish into the local stream or drain.
Little Makers, Big Future
This ocean diorama project is one of the templates available to download on HP Little Makers’ website. The HP Little Makers Family Edition Challenge features 8 educational challenges that cover a wide range of topics for parents and kids of all ages to attempt.
A visionary in the industry, HP Malaysia is all geared up to drive their global mission – to reinvent print-based education amongst children. This is evident in its effort in launching the Little Makers Challenge. HP Malaysia believes that printing and getting hands-on on mini-projects is a great and sustainable way to spark creativity and critical thinking in children, who are already fast learners as it is.
Answer The Call
From now till 23rd November 2019, complete any challenge and take a family photo with it, upload it to your social media accounts, and hashtag your posts #HPMY #HPLittleMakers #HPDeskjet #ReinventLearning and the participants with the best family photo will stand a chance to win exciting prizes from HP Malaysia worth over RM10,000!
Get on the HP Malaysia’s #reinventlearning train today and see how your children’s potentials unfurl before your eyes!