With Shark Week coming up, it’s the perfect time to create your own popsicle stick shark. Kids love sharks and popsicle stick crafts are easy to make.
You just need some paint and craft sticks for your little artist. We also have a free printable template available at the end of this post for you to use as a guide.
This craft stick shark is fun for preschool, kindergarten, and elementary school age children to make. Working on craft ideas for kids is an entertaining way to practice fine motor activities too.
Painting, gluing, tracing, and cutting are all ways kids can work on developing fine motor skills.
You can easily include this project in a shark theme week of summer camp at home or a unit study about sharks or the ocean.
More Animal Crafts for Kids
If you need screen free activities, then pull out some craft supplies. Kids love animals and are curious to learn more about them. This keeps them engaged in related activities, including working on animal crafts! Here are a few your children may enjoy.
- Use tissue paper and a free template to make a cute Bunny Suncatcher.
- Make adorable Animal Pencil Toppers by 24 Hour Family out of felt.
- This Coffee Filter Peacock craft is so bright and colorful!
- If you are learning about farm life, this easy cow craft from Homeschool Preschool is made using a cup.
- Our Bald Eagle craft is a fun way to create a puppet using a wooden spoon, paint, and craft foam.
Popsicle Stick Shark Craft Supplies
This project uses common craft materials, many of which you likely have at home already. Even if you don’t have everything right now, they are easy to find at the store.
I’ve also included my Amazon affiliate links (we earn a commission) for several items in case you are like me and prefer to place an order to reduce impulse shopping at the store.
- Shark Craft Template (available for free using the form at the bottom)
- Jumbo Craft Sticks
- Blue and White Craft Foam
- Acrylic Craft Paints in Light Blue, Medium Blue, and Red
- Googly Eyes
- Black Permanent Marker
- Low Temp Glue Gun or Tacky Craft Glue
- Pencil
- Paintbrush
- Scissors
Apple Barrel Acrylic Paint Set, 16 Piece (2-Ounce), Best Colors Count
Bassion Pack of 2 Kids Art Smocks, Children Waterproof Artist Painting Aprons Long Sleeve with 3 Pockets for Age 2-6 YearsAdTech Ultra Low-Temp Cool Tool | Mini Hot Glue Gun for Safe Crafting | Children and Kids | Item #05690 , WhiteAleene’s Turbo Tacky Glue, 4 FL OZ – 3 Pack, Multi
Can You Cut Popsicle Sticks With Scissors?
It is possible to cut popsicle sticks with scissors. The cuts tend to work best with craft scissors or by scoring the lines with a craft knife first.
Another option for nice, clean cuts in craft sticks you can also use wire cutters to prepare the sticks ahead of time.
Do I Have to Cut the Craft Sticks to Make This?
You do not have to cut the popsicle craft sticks in order to make this shark. You can leave all of the sticks intact and adjust how they are lined up to make your shark look the way you want (either staggered like in our step-by-step photos or lined up in a row like a rectangle).
Do I Have to Use a Glue Gun?
If you do not have a glue gun or do not want to use one, you can use liquid glue instead. I recommend using tacky craft glue because it holds better and dries faster than school glue. Using liquid craft glue will take longer to dry between steps than using a low temp glue gun.
How to Make a Popsicle Stick Shark
Start by counting out six jumbo popsicle craft sticks. Line them up vertically and stagger them to create an arch shape.
Take an additional 1-2 sticks and trim them to the width of your popsicle stick shark. Attach the trimmed stick(s) across the lined up sticks with glue. This will hold them all together.
Another option is to glue the popsicle sticks onto cardstock paper.
Print out the shark craft template (available at the bottom). Cut out the shark body pattern and the fins. Trace the shark outline on the craft sticks using a pencil.
This will guide you when carefully cutting the sticks to create the rounded point of the shark’s head.
Cut the outer part of the shark’s head away from the template. Now trace it on the craft sticks to guide where you will paint with two different shades of blue.
Use a light blue to paint the inside area of the shark’s head. Give it time to dry and apply a second coat if needed. Then paint the outside arch with a medium blue paint. Set aside to dry.
Attach the googly eyes where they will go, using the template and our tutorial photos as a guide. Then cut out the mouth from the template and trace it onto the shark head.
Paint the mouth red. Cut the teeth out from the template and trace them on white craft foam. Cut the teeth out and glue onto the red painted mouth.
Next trace the fins on blue craft foam and cut them out. Glue each fin to the back on each side of the craft popsicle sticks.
Finally, use a black permanent marker to draw on the nostrils and gills. You can use the craft template and our pictures as a reference.
More Ocean Activities for Kids
If your little learner can’t get enough of sharks and other ocean animals, then we have several suggestions to keep the learning going! This popsicle stick shark is the perfect craft project to go along with ocean themed educational printables, books, and more crafts.
Learn all sorts of cool and interesting facts about several shark species with the help of our printable shark research worksheets. Perfect for encouraging independent study.
Practice math facts with our ocean animal color by subtraction worksheets. There are several different ocean animals to color while working on subtracting numbers below 30.
Learn about the different layers of the ocean while also learning about density with our ocean zone density jar. It’s an easy science activity for kids and provides a wonderful visual of the ocean layers.
Ocean Crafts
Whether you want to plan a crafting day or a couple crafts a week, these ocean crafts go along with this project perfectly.
Ocean Books
Reading together is so beneficial for children. Not only does it provide quality time, but it helps foster their love of reading as well as build their vocabulary. Our summer reading challenge can be a fun way to keep track of all the books you are reading right now.
Shark LadyThe Girl Who Built an Ocean: An Artist, an Argonaut, and the True Story of the World’s First AquariumStella : The Shark Who Loves Treasure (Ocean Tales Children’s Books)
One of the best ocean picture books for kids to read is Shark Lady by Jess Keating. It is the true story of Eugenie Clark who devoted her life to learning about sharks. It’s a very engaging non-fiction science story for children.
Another fascinating true story is The Girl Who Built an Ocean, also by Jess Keating. This story is about Jeanne Villepreux-Power, who started out as a dressmaker, but became a pioneering scientist who invented the first aquarium.
The lyrical rhyming in Stella: The Shark Who Loves Treasure makes it an entertaining read aloud book for kids. This adorable story about a shark who loves treasure also has a message about sharing with friends.
Popsicle Stick Shark Craft
This adorable popsicle stick shark craft is perfect for kids to make during the summer or while celebrating Shark Week.
Materials
- Shark Craft Template (available for free using the form at the bottom)
- Jumbo Craft Sticks
- Blue and White Craft Foam
- Acrylic Craft Paints in Light Blue, Medium Blue, and Red
- Googly Eyes
- Black Permanent Marker
Tools
- Low Temp Glue Gun or Tacky Craft Glue
- Pencil
- Paintbrush
- Scissors
Instructions
- Line up 6 jumbo craft sticks vertically in an arch shape. Trim another stick to the width of your shark and glue it across the 6 sticks.
- Print out the shark craft template (available at the bottom) and cut out the patterns.
- Trace the shark outline on the craft sticks using a pencil. Carefully cut the sticks to create the rounded point of the shark’s head.
- Now trace the shark’s head (inner part) on the craft sticks.
- Paint the inside area of the shark’s head light blue.
- Paint the outside arch with a medium blue paint. Set aside to dry and apply another coat if needed.
- Glue on both eyes using the template as a guide for placement.
- Trace the mouth template onto the shark head.
- Paint the mouth red.
- Cut the teeth out of the template and trace onto white craft foam.
- Cut the teeth out and glue onto the mouth.
- Trace fins on blue craft foam and cut them out. Glue each fin along the sides onto the back.
- Draw the nostrils and gills using a black permanent marker. Refer to the template or our photos if needed.
Recommended Products
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Darcy is the founder of “Life With Darcy and Brian,” where she combines her love for education, board games, and crafting to create engaging learning experiences for kids. Her creative projects and writing have been featured in outlets like The Toy Insider, CafeMom, Mom.com, Parents.com, Country Living, and The Pioneer Woman.