Spiders often get a bad reputation. Between their eight scurrying legs and their penchant for dark corners, many children (and quite a few adults!) find them a bit intimidating. However, spiders are vital to our ecosystem, acting as nature’s pest controllers. To celebrate their importance, March 14th is designated as Save a Spider Day.
Whether you are teaching your children about the environment in March or looking for a “spooktacular” decoration for a Halloween party, these Gigantic Styrofoam Plate Spiders are the perfect project. They are incredibly easy to make, budget-friendly, and their massive size makes a huge impact on any corridor or classroom wall.
If you’ve been busy with work and need a high-impact craft that doesn’t take hours of preparation, this is the one for you. Let’s get spinning!
Why We Should Celebrate Spiders
Before we get into the glue and paint, it’s worth sharing a few reasons why we should “save a spider”:
- Pest Control: Spiders eat more insects than birds and bats combined. They help keep gardens healthy and homes free of flies and mosquitoes.
- Architecture: Spider silk is one of the strongest natural materials on earth—stronger than steel of the same thickness!
- Biodiversity: There are over 45,000 known species of spiders, each with unique hunting styles and patterns.
The Developmental Benefits of Making Giant Spiders
While this craft is a blast to put together, it also serves as a fantastic fine motor activity for young children:
- Bilateral Coordination: Using a stapler or twisting pipe cleaners requires both hands to work together.
- Tactile Painting: Using a sponge to apply acrylic paint provides a different sensory experience than a standard brush.
- Spatial Reasoning: Figuring out where to place the eight legs so the spider looks balanced helps kids with basic geometry and symmetry.
Supplies Required
One of the best things about this craft is that it utilizes items you likely already have in your recycling bin or kitchen.
- Styrofoam or Paper Plates: We recommend one large plate (about 18″ in diameter) for the body and one smaller plate (about 6″) for the head.
- Note: If you don’t have plates, you can trace the largest circular object in your house onto black construction paper or cardboard.
- Black Acrylic Paint: For that classic “creepy-crawly” look.
- Sponge: For quick and textured paint application.
- White Paper Circles or Stickers: For the eyes.
- Black Marker: To add pupils to the eyes.
- Black Pipe Cleaners (Chenille Sticks): At least 8 per spider.
- Stapler: To attach the head to the body.
- Double-sided Foam Tape: For easy mounting on walls or doors.
- Newspapers: To protect your work surface.
Step-by-Step Instructions: How to Make a Gigantic Spider
1. Prepare Your Workspace
Spiders can be messy! Spread out plenty of old newspapers on your floor or table. Lay your plates face down on the paper. Using recycled Styrofoam plates is a great way to be eco-friendly—just make sure they are washed and dried thoroughly before you start.
2. The Painting Phase
Take your sponge and dip it into the black acrylic paint. Dabbing the paint onto the backside of the plates creates a textured, “hairy” appearance that looks much more realistic than flat brush strokes. Once the plates are fully covered, let them dry overnight. This is the hardest part for kids—waiting for the paint to dry!
3. Assemble the Spider’s Body
Once the paint is completely dry, take your smaller plate (the head) and overlap it slightly with the larger plate (the body). Use a stapler to secure them together.
4. Adding the Eight Legs
A spider isn’t a spider without its legs!
- Using Pipe Cleaners: Use a sharp pencil or the end of the pipe cleaner to carefully pierce the edge of the large Styrofoam plate. Push the pipe cleaner through and twist the end to secure it.
- The Bend: Bend the pipe cleaner in the middle to give the leg a “jointed” look. Repeat this until you have four legs on each side.
- Alternative: If you don’t have pipe cleaners, you can use long strips of black chart paper folded in an accordion fashion. This gives the legs a fun “boingy” effect when the spider is hung up.
5. Giving Your Spider a Face
Giant spiders need giant eyes!
- Take your white paper circles or stickers and place them on the smaller plate.
- Use your black marker to draw the pupils.
- Pro Tip: Spiders actually have eight eyes! While two large eyes look cute and “Kawaii,” you can add six smaller dots around them to make your craft scientifically accurate.
6. Mounting Your Spooktacular Decor
Use double-sided foam tape on the back of the spider’s body. Because Styrofoam is so lightweight, these gigantic spiders will easily stick to your house corridor, front door, or even the ceiling for a real jump scare!
Fun Extension Activities for Save a Spider Day
1. The Web-Building Challenge
Give your kids some white yarn and masking tape. See if they can create a “giant web” in a doorway or between two chairs. Then, they can try to toss “flies” (scrunched-up paper balls) into the web to see if they stick.
2. Spider Anatomy Lesson
While crafting, talk about the difference between insects and arachnids.
- Insects: 6 legs, 3 body parts, have antennae.
- Arachnids: 8 legs, 2 body parts (cephalothorax and abdomen), no antennae.
3. Spider Storytime
Read a spider-themed book to settle down after crafting. Some favorites include:
- The Very Busy Spider by Eric Carle.
- Aaaarrrrgghh! Spider! by Lydia Monks.
- Diary of a Spider by Doreen Cronin.
Tips for Success
- Textured Plates: If you are using leaf plates or textured paper plates, the ridges will help the paint catch the light, making the spider look even more impressive.
- Glow-in-the-Dark: For a Halloween twist, use a little bit of glow-in-the-dark paint on the eyes or the tips of the legs. It looks incredible when the lights go out!
- Styrofoam Safety: If children are piercing the plates with pipe cleaners, ensure they are doing so on a flat surface to avoid poking their fingers.
Final Thoughts
These Gigantic Styrofoam Plate Spiders prove that you don’t need a lot of time or expensive materials to create something memorable. Whether you’re celebrating the ecological benefits of our eight-legged friends for Save a Spider Day or turning your home into a haunted mansion for Halloween, this craft is a guaranteed hit. It’s quick, it’s easy, and it’s a wonderful way to spend an evening together after a long day at work.