This dinosaur fossil dig activity was a huge hit with my little man who is SO into dinosaurs right now! With a quick prep the night before we had a blast digging out dinosaur fossils that were frozen in ice.
Prep Your Dinosaur Fossil Dig
I had picked up this set of dinosaur fossil toys when we were at the Museum of Natural History. You can find similar dinosaur fossil toys here. You will also need a large container, but make sure it fits into your freezer! I used the largest one from this set but any freezer safe plastic container will do the trick.
Fill your container with a small amount of water, less than 1 inch deep. Then, scatter your dinosaur fossil toys all around. It’s ok if some parts of the dinosaur fossils stick out! Now stick it on a flat surface in the freezer and leave it overnight to set.
Let’s Dig Up Dinosaur Fossils
Once you have an ice block filled with dinosaur fossil toys pick an area to play. I set out a large towel on the kitchen table and let him go to town! I also gave my son some wooden tools I had saved from a dinosaur fossil dig kit he had previously done. But any kid safe tools or things you have in your kitchen like a plastic spoon and a chopstick will work well too! This dinosaur fossil dig activity kept my son busy for a good 30 minutes, plus he played with the fossil toys all day long!
Make the Most of It
Being a teacher-mom I can’t help but weave in learning opportunities whenever I can! This dinosaur fossil dig activity was no different! For example when he reached a particularly thick part of ice and was having trouble getting the fossil toy out I prompted him with What else can we try to get the fossil out of the ice? He first wanted to smash the ice on the ground to break it, which would of been a great idea if it wasn’t January and freezing outside! So, we talked through how that was a great idea and we will try it when the weather is nicer out! Then he suggested putting the ice in hot water! So we took the chuck of ice with the dinosaur fossil dig toy stuck inside to the sink. I ran the warm water for him and as the ice melted away we discussed what was happening (ice changing from a liquid to a solid because it was being heated).
Finally, once all of the dinosaur fossil dig toys were free he had fun sorting them into categories. Sorting into categories is a great way to practice thinking and reasoning. He was even able to come up with some of the sorting categories on his own! For example: dinosaurs who walked on 2 legs vs 4 legs, dinos who can fly vs walk, herbivores vs carnivores etc.
Be sure to check back here for new and exciting updates.
