Tapir Sock Puppet Completed Activity

Tapir sock puppet

about

A tapir's nose and upper lip are combined into a flexible snout like an elephant's trunk, which the animal can use to reach and pull plant material into its mouth. Here's how to make a tapir puppet you can use to pick up anything you want!

instructions

Materials: sock, paper cup, felt, googly eyes, glue, scissors

What you need

  • 1 black sock
  • 2 googly eyes
  • 1 paper cup
  • Brown felt
  • Scissors
  • Glue
Cutting the cup

1.

Roll the sock up so that you have easy access to the bottom of the cup. (It will look like a sock donut without the hole.) Cut the bottom off of the paper cup. Insert the cup into the sock; you want it almost down to the toe of the sock, but not quite. The cup creates the form of the tapir's head, but you want to be able to move the toe of the sock around with your fingers, as if it is the tapir's flexible snout.

Unroll the sock. Check the placement of the cup by putting your hand into the sock and through the open bottom of the cup so that your fingers form the snout.

Cutting the felt ears

2.

Cut ear shapes from the brown felt. Fold the bottom edge over about 1/4 inch to form a crease. Placing a heavy book on top of the felt ears will help make the crease. Use glue to attach the felt ears to the sock. Position the ears on the larger opening of the cup. 

Tapir sock puppet

3.

Glue the googly eyes on the puppet. Place the eyes closer to the ears than to the nose; this will make the puppet look like it has a long nose.