What you need   Worksheet: Croc master (class set) Worksheet: Crab master (class set)   2 egg cartons, 2 polystyrene grocery store trays (white) a similar width to egg cartons   paper fastener, scissors, paper glue (glue sticks or other)   textas or crayons

thick coloured glass bottles or plastic bottles   an oval of green or blue cellophane or cloth   nesting material (shredded newspaper), coloured paper   table tennis balls

What you do

To make the parent crocodile

Take the lid off of one egg carton. Use the bottom half to make a tail for the big croc. Cut a diagonal line from the outside of one end to the centre spike at the other end. Do the same on the opposite side of the carton. [Note: Don't throw away the trimmed portion of the tail because you'll need two full and two partial cups to use as eyes and nose holes]. Join the tail section to the untouched carton using a paper fastener so that the tail can swing back and forth. (You will have to trim away some of the tail in order to get any back and forth motion). Cut the lid of that same carton in half.

Cut the polystyrene trays to match the lid halves you have just made but leave some of the plastic hanging out of the edge and trim in a teeth pattern. Glue the jaws and teeth onto the full carton body. Cut legs from the remaining polystyrene and glue them in place with craft glue.

To make the baby crocodiles

Colour in then cut out baby crocodile shapes. Join tummy tabs underneath with paper glue. This will give crocodile a third dimension. Make them into puppets by attaching two pieces of nylon fishing line to two spots on crocs back. Tie the other end of each line onto a stick.

To make the wetland

• Use cellophane on a table top to create a pond or estuary.

To make the mangroves

Roll up green/brown coloured paper make into a tube shape. Tape or glue to hold in place. Make as many tubes as you have bottles. Slit or cut the top half of each coloured tube into long parallel strips about a centimeter or so wide leaving it attached to the bottom half of the tube. Insert the uncut portion of the tube into the bottles and the slit strips should fan out and arc down from the bottle. Cut out a few small green leaf shapes from coloured paper and stick them on the mangrove branches about half way up. Take some thin strips of paper and glue them at the bottom on the bottle so they bow out from it like roots. Bend the tips of the roots back up towards the sky/top of the water so the mangrove can breathe.

Place green or brown bottles on the green cellophane to represent mangroves. [Note: Glass bottles have a good weight but may break so you may choose plastic bottles half filled with rice or beans for a better centre of gravity.]

To make the nest

• Place a nest among the mangroves and place the eggs in the nest.
• Put the baby crocodiles in the water and among the table tennis balls.

To make some other critters

• Make some invertebrates - dragon-flies (try putting wings on clothes pegs), crabs (Worksheet 2), snails and fish and place them on or under or around the mangrove roots.
• [Note: instead of colouring you can use old calendar pictures or wrapping paper with natural colours, animals or landscapes and cut out the animal shapes]
• Engage in a discussion about what the crocodiles are doing there and what part the various other elements play.
• Ask why mangroves make such a rich animal environment.
• Discuss the parent crocodiles role in bringing up the offspring.

© Copyright 2000 Marine Education Society of Australasia Wildlife Preservation Society of Qld

Activity c Crab pack rap