Egg Carton Lobster Craft
This Egg Carton Lobster Craft is a fun recycled craft for kids who love ocean animals. With a simple egg carton, red paint, and pipe cleaners, children can turn everyday materials into a cute little lobster for pretend play, summer crafting, or an ocean-themed classroom activity. Add it to a beach diorama or pair it with an egg carton crab for a whole crustacean collection.
Fun Facts
Lobsters are not always bright red in the ocean. Wild lobsters are usually a dark greenish-brown color, but some can be blue, yellow, grey, calico, multi-colored, or even albino because of rare genetic differences. Lobsters turn bright red when cooked because the red pigments in their shells can withstand heat better than the other colors.
Supplies
- Empty egg carton
- Red paint
- Paint brush
- 4 red pipe cleaners
- 2 wiggle eyes
- Scissors
- Hole punch
- Glue
Instructions
- Cut the egg carton in half lengthwise. You will only need one long half for this lobster craft.
- Trim off two egg cups from the carton. Cut each cup in half. Two of the cup halves will become the lobster claws, and one cup half will become the tail.
- Paint the egg carton body, claws, and tail red. Let everything dry completely.
- Use a hole punch to make four holes along each side of the egg carton body for the legs.
- Punch two holes on top near the front for the lobster’s eye stalks.
- Fold one pipe cleaner in half. From the inside of the egg carton, thread one end through one front leg hole and the other end through the front leg hole on the opposite side. Pull both ends out to form the front legs.
- Glue one egg carton claw half to the end of each front pipe cleaner leg.
- Cut the remaining pipe cleaners as needed and thread them through the other leg holes. Bend them to look like lobster legs.
- Push a small piece of pipe cleaner through each eye hole. Trim each one to about 1 1/2 inches long.
- Glue one wiggle eye to the end of each eye stalk.
- Glue the egg carton tail piece to the back of the lobster.
- Let the glue dry, then your egg carton lobster is ready for ocean play or display.
Patterns, Templates and Printables
This craft does not require a printable template. Use an empty egg carton and basic craft supplies to create your lobster.
Teacher Friendly Educational Extension
Use this easy craft for kids as part of an ocean animals lesson. Talk about crustaceans and explain that lobsters have hard outer shells, claws, and many legs.
For a science connection, ask children to compare lobsters, crabs, and shrimp. What body parts are the same? What looks different?
For a writing activity, have students name their lobster and write a short story about its adventure under the sea.
For a classroom display, place the finished lobsters on blue paper with paper seaweed, shells, fish, and bubbles to create a cheerful ocean bulletin board.
