Of All the Week the Best: Dioramas!

For this Sabbath activity you need to be out in nature—a great place to be on Sabbath! This activity is most enjoyable when several are involved. Bring your Bibles and your creativity.

After asking God to bless your activity, separate into groups of two or three. Each group should choose a certain aspect of God’s character (see Exodus 34:6, 7; Psalm 145:8, 9; Lamentations 3:22, 23; etc.). They should then pick a story from the Bible that illustrates the character trait. Now it is time to create a scene (a diorama) from the story using natural materials at hand.




Here is an example: Perhaps your group chooses to portray God’s faithfulness. You decide the story of Noah and the ark shows it very well. Choose one part of Noah’s story that illustrates God’s faithfulness—perhaps immediately after the flood when the rainbow appeared. A large piece of bark on a high mound of dirt will serve for the ark. A small curved branch with both ends stuck in the ground could be the rainbow. Pebbles could form an altar; eight sticks with acorns on top could be Noah and his family—and so on.

After 20–30 minutes call the groups back together. Take turns trying to guess what the scenes portray, and then which of God’s character traits they represent. Take your time guessing, enjoying one another’s creativity and learning new insights into God and the Bible!

Be careful not to damage live plants, and replace your materials at the end of the activity.