Printable Paper Insect Display

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I have always been fascinated by those insect displays where insects are pinned down with labels. I thought it would be so neat to create something like that with my kids to teach them about insects, however I have no desire to find and collect all of the insects!  Instead, I decided a cleaner way to go about it was to make a printable one!  That’s how our printable paper insect display project was born.

What’s been so fun about this paper insect display is that my kids and I learned about some new insects but no insects were harmed in creating this!  (And I was not harmed in having to collect or store real ones!) It is fun and also educational!

There are 12 insects in this printable set. There are a variety of beetles, and butterflies, a dragonfly, a bee, and a ladybug.

To make the paper insect display all you need is to print out this set, use a few straight pins and have a cork board or other type of display board to put them on. I found a smaller cork board that I used for ours.

Regularly when insect display cases are made, they use a styrofoam block to pin in the insects. You could also use a shadow box frame if you want to display it in a bedroom.

The bugs can be a bit tricky to cut, so I had my kids help cut the parts they could then I did the smaller parts- the legs and the antennae.

Once the display was completed, I bent the pins on the back so it could be hung on the wall. My son begged to have it in his bedroom! He loved this project and is now determined to find all of these bugs in real life.

This set is available in my shop.

$4.50Add to cart

Check out some of our other insect projects:

Pitfall Insect Trap
Insect Hotel
Roll a Beetle Game
Spring Insect Study

This is part of the Weekly Virtual Book Club for Kids. This week’s theme is butterflies and the featured book is The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric CarleThe Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle. This book is basically a staple at our house!  It’s always been a favorite.

Also follow along in the Weekly Virtual Book Club for Kids Facebook Group for more ideas!

See what the other bloggers shared this week:

Butterfly Food Challenge – Preschool Powol Packets
How to Start a Butterfly Garden – Inspiration Laboratories
Easy Sparkly Spin Art Butterflies- Toddler Approved
Pom Pom Caterpillar to Colorful Butterfly Craft – Artsy Momma
Caterpillar to Butterfly Craft – Mama Smiles
Exploring Shapes on Mats with a Butterfly Theme -JDaniel4’s Mom