Make a Paper Bromeliad

Make a paper bromeliad!

What you will need:

• A 10-ounce plastic or paper cup
• Green and red construction paper
• Scissors
• Glue
• Colored markers or crayons
• Water

What to do:

1. Cut out Pattern A, leaving Pattern B inside it. Trace around Pattern A on red paper.
2. Then cut out Pattern B (the green pattern). Trace around Pattern B on green paper.
3. To make a paper bromeliad, wrap the red paper (Pattern A) around a paper cup as shown. Glue the paper in place.
4. Then wrap the green paper (Pattern B) around the cup as shown. Glue the paper in place. Pull the bromeliad leaves down to make them curve.
5. Color the poison dart frog red with "blue jeans." Cut the frog out and glue it to a leaf of the bromeliad.
6. Put some water in the cup to represent the water that collects in the bromeliad tank.

Try This!

For a science project in school, write a report about the poison dart frog and the bromeliad. Use your paper bromeliad to illustrate the report. Help younger kids learn about the rainforest by taking your paper bromeliad to lower-grade classrooms. Tell them about the life cycle of the poison dart frog.

Reprinted from The Remarkable Rainforest by Toni Albert, © 1994 by Toni Albert. By permission of Trickle Creek Books. If you order this book directly from the publishers at 800-353-2791, mention the Rainforest Alliance. Then 30 percent of the retail price ($10.95) will be donated to the Rainforest Alliance.