Dinosaur crafts are a great way to keep your kids occupied during the school holidays. If you’re handy with balloon animals, this balloon diplodocus is a great challenge that will test your skill. In this step-by-step guide, we show you how to enjoy a new, inflatable dinosaur experience. Best of all, you only need one thing for this activity: a twisting balloon in your preferred colour.

Step 1

Inflate the balloon, leaving about 10cm slack at the end. Loosely tie the knot as close to the end as possible, and then tug on the knot to free up a couple of centimetres of slack. Turn the balloon over and firmly press the slack end so the air moves back towards the knot, leaving you as much slack as possible.

Step 2

Fold a length of balloon about 3cm long and hold both, pressed together, in one hand. With your free hand, squash the bend to make a sharp angle in the balloon.

Step 3

Keep hold of the first fold and make a second fold about 10cm away. Squash this one to make the sharp bend, as you did with the first fold.

Step 4

Keeping hold of the zigzag, twist the start of a new bubble a couple of centimetres from the base. Make the bubble 3-4cm long by twisting the other end, then make another bubble the same length. Lock twist them together to make the front legs.

Step 5

Make two more bubbles a little longer than the previous two. Lock twist them together to form the tummy.

Step 6

Now form four new, round bubbles - one small, followed by a slightly larger one, then the third and fourth the same size as the second. Holding securely to prevent the series of bubbles unravelling, bring the fourth bubble against the two that form the tummy. Starting with the fourth bubble, force all four bubbles through the centre of the two bubbles that form the tummy. Pull them out to form the back.

Step 7

Taking your first bubble from the series of small ones, perform a pinch twist by pinching it and twisting it three or four times around the base, so it looks like a kidney bean.

Step 8

To make the back legs, make two bubbles a little shorter than the ones you made for the front legs. Lock twist them together.

Step 9

To finish off, make a small bubble the same size as the first in your series of four, and transform it into a pinch twist. Finally, compress the end of the tail and carefully push some air towards the base so it’s thicker than the end.

Your diplodocus is complete! You can draw on a face with a marker to make it friendly.

If you’re interested in walking with dinosaurs live, don’t miss Dinosaur World Live, which is touring the UK from 1 August until mid-November. As one of the best dinosaur attractions UK, it delights kids with intricate puppetry and a host of interesting facts about dino favourites and some lesser known reptiles. Book your tickets today.