How to Make a Dragonfly-Crafts and Interesting Facts

Dragonflies seem to be fascinating to many children. Power P and Einstein E are no exception. We often read about these insects, and, one day, decided to make them. They were just what the boys needed to finish their magical forest project. The steps for making these dragonflies are pretty straight forward, but the things we learned are really amazing.

Interesting facts about dragonflies:

  • Despite having six legs, they don't walk very well.
  • They have been around for 300 million years. 
  • Modern dragonflies have wingspans of five to thirteen centimetres, but fossil dragonflies have had wingspans of up to sixty.
  • A single dragonfly can eat 30 to hundreds of mosquitoes per day.
  • They have a nearly 360-degree field of vision.

Now that you know a bit more about these insects, let's see how to make them using only: 

  • twigs
  • maple tree seeds (helicopters). We did this activity in the late summer, which is why our helicopters are brown.
  • got glue
  • paint
  • tweezers (optional)

Step 1.

Reading about dragonflies. These interesting creatures are mentioned in every book about animals Einstein E and Power P have. Even in their books about dinosaurs. Why? Because dragonflies were already here during that time.

Step 2.

This is the essential step- spending time outdoors. We went to the forest looking for twigs and maple tree seeds and got back home a few hours later. It's important to always keep in mind all the benefits of spending time outside, running, jumping, balancing, throwing... 
Step 3.

Dragonflies have two pairs of wings and two big eyes. 

Those little tiny seeds that look like one small pea transformed into the eyes, and the "helicopters" became the wings. 
Step 4.

We simply hot glued the helicopters and the tiny seeds on the twigs. During this step, the boys used tweezers to be safe from getting burnt. 
Step 5.

Paint them...

Step 6.

It's time to play :)

Some of the books we used to learn these interesting facts are:

  • McGhee, K. (2014). Das Ravensburger Lexikon der Tiere. Ravensburg: Ravensburger Buchverlag.
  • Woodward. J. (2017). Tiere: Die Tierwelt in spektakulären Bildern. München: Dorling Kindersley Verlag GmbH.