dinosaurs Archives – The Pinterested Parent

My daughter likes dinosaurs. She really likes them. I think this is largely because of the book ‘How do dinosaurs say goodnight?’. I am not sure, but regardless, she loves those crazy creatures. A few weeks back I took her to a dinosaur exhibit.

She of course loved it. There was a wide range of dinosaur related displays, rides & activities. One of the kid’s activities there was a sandbox with fossilized rock at the bottom. It had paint brushes to brush off the sand to uncover the fossils. Mai really enjoyed this. I thought this would be an easy enough activity to make a home. It took a few weeks, but today we finally tackled this sensory box & the results were great.

What you will need:

A large Rubbermaid container

Hardening modeling Clay – I made my own off of this recipe from Wiki- http://www.wikihow.com/Make-Modeling-Clay-at-Home

Play Sand

Paint Brushes

Corn Starch

Dinosaur figurines

An old sheet or a drop cloth

Instructions:

Get your molding clay ready. Knead & roll out to the desired shapes.

Using your dinosaurs make imprints into the clay with their feet & their bodies.

Let your clay harden according to it’s recipe directions or package directions.

Once your imprinted clay is hardened & cooled, place at the bottom of your Rubbermaid container.

Pour play sand on top of your clay imprints. I mixed the sand with cornstarch to lighten the texture of the sand.

Add your dinosaurs and paint brushes. Lay down an old sheet or drop cloth to collect any sand that may escape.

Dinosaurs!

Brush the sand & reveal your fossils.

My adorable daughter is showing me the mama dinosaur holding her baby dinosaur. So cute!

This is fun!

Mai loved this activity. We played with it after supper & up until bath time. She was so deep into her new role as archaeologist that mommy was able to bake, do the dishes & pick up all of her toys. It was a good night. Mai even helped mommy sweep up after.

Tag

dinosaurs

Dinosaur & Fossil Finding Sensory Box