This snake craft turns a party blower into a flicking snake tongue. Blow into the blower and the tongue shoots out, just like a real snake sensing the air. Add a craft foam head with googly eyes and a chain-link body, and you’ve got a puppet that’s as fun to play with as it is to make.
Materials
Supplies:
- Craft foam (green, red, or any snake color you like)
- 2 googly eyes
- Craft glue
- 1 party blower (the kind that unrolls when you blow)
- Snake puppet pattern (free printable PDF)
Snake Puppet Pattern
Tools:
- Scissors (grownup help needed)
- Stapler (grownup help needed)
Don’t have craft foam? Construction paper or cardstock works too. No party blower? Roll a strip of paper into a tube and tape it for a non-blowing version. The tongue won’t shoot out, but the puppet still looks great.
Steps
Grownup help needed for steps 1, 2, and 4.
- Print and cut the pattern. Download the snake puppet pattern and cut out the head template.
- Make the head. Trace the pattern onto craft foam and cut out a double-spoon shape. Fold it in half so the two round ends line up, then staple both sides to form the head.
- Add the eyes. Glue googly eyes onto the head.
- Insert the tongue. Cut a small hole toward the back of the head. Slide the mouthpiece end of the party blower through the hole so the blower sticks out the front like a tongue.
- Cut the body strips. Cut at least 20 strips of craft foam, each about half an inch wide and 6 inches long.
- Start the chain. Thread one strip through the back of the head and staple the ends together to form a loop.
- Build the body. Thread the next strip through the first loop and staple it into a new loop. Keep going, linking strip after strip, until your snake is as long as you want it.
- Test the tongue. Hold the snake by the head and blow into the party blower. The tongue should shoot out and snap back. Your snake puppet is ready to slither!
