“Dinosaur” Excavation for Kids

May 31, 2011 by Stacie Nelson

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Try out your paleontology skills with this activity!

Dinosaur Dig for Kids

Supplies:

Books about dinosaurs/paleontologists
Chicken bones
Container of sand
Tweezers (if desired)
Paint brush

1) Read a book like Digging Up Dinosaurs (Let’s-Read-and-Find-Out Science 2) to build background knowledge before you begin.

2) Wash the chicken bones. Allow to dry out for a day or so.

3) Bury the bones in the sand. “Excavate” the bones. Use tweezers for an extra boost in fine-motor development!

4) Dust the bones with a paintbrush!

This activity was perfectly-suited for my little one (she buried the bones over and over again), but I also used a Science Kit with my older daughters to excavate and build a model dinosaur!

Comments

Messy Kids says:

June 1, 2011 at 12:48 am

I worked with a Kindergarten teacher who did something similar in her sandbox…but she also buried one of those giant bones from the petstore that you would buy to give a large dog. It was pretty funny seeing the kids find THAT in the sandbox!

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Jena says:

June 1, 2011 at 1:35 am

I'll be saving our chicken bones for this one. Brilliant idea

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Stacie says:

June 1, 2011 at 3:23 am

That would be fun! I can imagine the little one's surprise!!

Thanks, Jena! It's fun…and still sitting in our garage to unearth some more tomorrow!

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