Dragon Boat
Celebrate a classic cultural tradition with this printable Dragon Boat craft for kids. Inspired by the Dragon Boat Festival, this easy paper craft lets children color, fold, and build their own dragon boat. It is a fun way to combine creativity with learning, whether you are planning classroom activities, homeschool projects, or simple easy crafts for kids at home.
Children can decorate the boat in bright colors, draw paddlers inside, and even imagine their own family racing together across the water. This printable template is a wonderful choice for seasonal crafts, cultural studies, and hands-on art time.
Supplies
- Paper or cardstock
- Printer
- Scissors
- Crayons or markers
- Glue
Instructions
- Print out the dragon boat template.
- Color both sides of the boat before cutting it out. Kids can also draw paddlers inside the boat. For extra fun, they can make the paddlers look like family members or friends.
- Carefully cut out the dragon boat pattern.
- Fold the pattern along lines AB and then CD.
- Glue the upper edges of the two sides together.
- Fold the flaps along the dotted lines EF and HG toward the inside of the boat so the boat can stand up.
- Let the glue dry, then place your finished dragon boat on display.
- For a larger version, enlarge the printable template on a copier before cutting and assembling.
Fun Facts
- The Dragon Boat Festival is a Chinese tradition that began more than 2,000 years ago.
- The festival is connected to Qu Yuan, a famous poet and statesman remembered for his loyalty and poetry.
- Dragon boat races are one of the most exciting parts of the celebration and are now enjoyed in many countries around the world.
- Traditional dragon boats are long and narrow so they can move quickly through the water.
- A drummer often sits near the front of the boat to help paddlers keep the same rhythm.
- Many Dragon Boat Festival celebrations also include special foods such as sticky rice dumplings called zongzi.
- The festival is held on the fifth day of the fifth month of the lunar calendar.
Patterns, Templates and Printables
Click on the printable dragon boat template to open it in a new window and print it at the correct size.
Teacher Friendly Educational Extension
This dragon boat craft works well as part of a unit on world cultures, China, or international holidays. Invite children to locate China on a map and learn why dragon boats are important during the festival. Students can also count how many paddlers they draw, write a short story about a dragon boat race, or compare this celebration with another holiday they know. Finished boats make a colorful classroom display for cultural studies or summer classroom activities.
Supplies
Paper
Scissors
Crayons or Markers
Glue
Instructions
Click on Printables and print out the pattern for the dragon boat, then cut out, draw some paddlers, and color both sides; (To make it fun, children can draw their family members as paddlers.)
Fold the pattern along AB and then CD;
Glue the upper edges of the two sides together, then fold the flaps along the dotted line EF and HG towards the inside of the boat so that the boat can stand.
If you want a bigger boat just enlarge the pattern on a copier.
This craft reprinted courtesy of MyWeb3000.com.
Patterns, Templates and Printables
Click on a pattern to open it in a new window
Contributor
MyWeb3000.com provides fun activity ideas for families and educators. You'll find innovative paper plane designs, Chinese craft projects, snowflake patterns, tangram games, and much much more.
Fantastic idea! Thank you so much!
Love this project, especially the idea to draw family members paddling in the boat!
very interesting craft