Do you have a favourite animal? Let’s turn your picture into your very own jigsaw puzzle.
Did you know ...
The National Museum of Australia has many animals in its collection. We even have the fleece (wool) from a famous sheep called Chris. The story of Chris is told in our Discovery Centre.
Can you believe that the fleece from Chris the sheep holds the Guinness Book of World Records as the world’s heaviest sheep fleece, weighing 41.1 kilograms!
Let’s make a puzzle. Can you make a Chris the sheep puzzle? Or you could make one of your favourite animal or pet.
How to make your own jigsaw puzzle
Find out about Trim the cat and Chris the sheep and make your own animal jigsaw. This fun at home access activity is suitable for children who use Auslan (Australian Sign Language), from ages 4 and over.
Draw or paint your favourite animal using the 9-piece or 24-piece jigsaw template. Let’s turn your creation into a puzzle at home!
Skill level: ★ Easy — you may need an adult to assist
Time: 45–60 minutes
Ages: 5 and up
What you need:
- A4 paper to design your animal
- scissors
- glue
- thin cardboard or an old magazine cover
- pencils, textas or paint
- print out of the 9-piece or 24-piece PDF jigsaw template.
- Download Animal jigsaw puzzle — 9-piece template48.2 kb pdf [ PDF | 48.2 kb ]
- Download Animal jigsaw puzzle — 24-piece template66.8 kb pdf [ PDF | 66.8 kb ]
Step 1
- With a pencil, draw your favourite animal on A4 paper.
- Remember to draw on the whole piece of paper. Can you add a background? It's like putting your animal in a scene or landscape. We put Chris on some grass.
Tip: Some other ideas are to add trees, sky, mountains or anything you like!
Step 2
Once you have drawn your picture, add colour with pencils, textas or paints.
Tip: If you paint your picture, you will need to let it dry before step 3.
Step 3
- Glue the whole page of your artwork onto the cardboard. Check that it is glued down well and evenly with no blank spots.
- Wait for the glue to dry.
Tip: Sometimes it is easier to glue onto a slightly bigger piece of cardboard, and then after it has dried you can cut around the edges to neaten it up.
Step 4
- Print out the jigsaw template (9-piece or 24-piece)
- Glue the template on to the BACK of the cardboard with your artwork
- Make sure it is glued down well and evenly with no blank spots
- Wait for it to dry.
Tip: Place something heavy on top of your artwork so it dries really flat.
Step 5
- Cut out your pieces with scissors (ask someone in your family to assist if you are new at holding scissors) and cut around the jigsaw template.
- Jumble all your pieces up and see how long it takes to put them back together.
Congratulations. You have made your one-of-a-kind jigsaw puzzle!
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