3D Paper Hippo

This 3D Hippo is a fun one to make with kids, especially if they enjoy animals and colorful paper crafts. It’s a simple project where they can color, cut, and put together their own hippo.

The finished craft turns into a cute little pond scene, making it a fun project to add to your animal craft collection.

Get the template here

When you think about safari animals, you probably picture lions, elephants, giraffes, and zebras. But what about a big, funny hippo relaxing in a pond?

A hippo chilling in the water, surrounded by lily pads and flowers, is one of those scenes that would probably make any kid stop and say, “Aww!” So I thought it would be fun to bring that little scene to the craft table and turn it into a 3D paper craft.

And here’s something pretty cool about hippos: they don’t actually swim like we might think they do. Instead, they can walk along the bottom of rivers and lakes while their eyes, ears, and nose stay up near the surface.

Pretty amazing for an animal that spends so much time in the water!

If your kids already have a collection of safari animals, this 3D Hippo is a fun one to add to it. Let them make their own hippo, give it a colorful pond to hang out in, and see what other safari animals they can add to their collection.

Learning Through Making This 3D Paper Hippo

Making this 3D Hippo gives kids plenty of hands-on practice with coloring, cutting, folding, and gluing. Working with the different paper pieces helps build hand control and coordination, especially when they are putting together the smaller parts.

There’s also lots of room for creativity. Kids can choose their own colors for the hippo, water, lily pads, and flowers, and they can add their own patterns or details if they want to make the scene their own.

Putting together a 3D craft also gives kids a chance to see how flat pieces of paper can turn into something with shape and depth. Following the steps and figuring out where each piece goes also helps them practice paying attention and working through a project one step at a time.

Ideas for the Classroom and Homeschool

This printable can fit nicely into lessons about hippos, ponds, wetlands, or animals that live near water. Kids could learn a few simple facts about hippos and their habitats, then make their own 3D hippo as a hands-on activity.

It could also go along with a lesson about pond life. After making the craft, kids could talk about what other animals and plants they might find around a pond and add them to a drawing of their own pond scene.

For a writing activity, younger children could write a few sentences about their hippo and what it might do during the day. Older kids could write a short story about a hippo exploring its pond, meeting other animals, or looking for a nice place to relax in the water.

3D Paper Hippo Step By Step Guide

Supplies Needed

• Cardstock
• Markers, crayons, or colored pencils
• Scissors
• Glue
• The 3D Paper Hippo Templates

3D Paper Hippo Instructions

Step 1: Print the 3D Paper Hippo Templates on cardstock.

Step 2: Color the hippo and lily pads with colored pencils, crayons, or markers.

Step 3: Carefully cut out all the parts along the outlines.

Step 4: Fold the side panels of the face along the lines.

Step 5: Fold the tabs on the side panels along the dashed lines.

Step 6: Apply a thin, even layer of glue to the tab so it doesn’t warp the paper, then press and hold the tab firmly against the inside of the adjacent panel for a few seconds until it bonds.

Step 7: Repeat steps 5 and 6 for the hippo’s snout to achieve the result as shown.

Step 8: Attach the snout to the hippo’s face right at the dotted line.

Step 9: Glue the two ears to the back of the hippo face so that the top corner aligns with the marked line on the ear.

Step 10: Use a blue marker to draw wavy lines. Then, use a white marker to draw a secondary wavy line directly alongside each blue wave.

Step 11: Glue the hippo’s head onto the center of the base cardstock.

Step 12: Cut the grid into strips of five squares. Fold along the marked lines and glue square 1 to square 5 to form a square-shaped support.

Step 13: Glue the square-shaped supports onto the base cardstock as shown.

Step 14: Attach the two front legs and lily pads to the square-shaped supports as shown.

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