I wish I had more photos of this and until I recreate it just know this was a SMASH (literally!). This is something an adult preps but is used by the littles. Our little excavation site lasted the kids over a WEEK of play!
MATERIALS
- Plaster of Paris (We get ours from JoAnn with a coupon and it’s cheaper than Amazon but here’s the Amazon link!)
- Water
- 1 Disposable Cup
- Shallow, Plastic Container (We used this)
- Plastic Dinosaurs (Mix of dinosaurs from Dollar Tree and these)
- Excavating Tools (Popsicle sticks, spoons, paintbrushes, etc.)
- Large Tray
DIRECTIONS
- Have AN ADULT create the dinosaur mold. Follow the directions on the box of Plaster of Paris and make sure to do this outside as it’s dusty. We mix the Plaster of Paris and water in a disposable cup so we can just toss it when done. Pour your wet Plaster of Paris mixture into a shallow, plastic container and add your dinosaur figurines. The amount of Plaster of Paris that you need will vary depending on the side of your plastic container but for reference I used about 1/2 – 3/4 of the box and ours was large and thick! You could make mini ones, an even bigger one…endless options! Let dry over the weekend.
- Invite the littles to excavate the dinosaurs! The “disclaimer” is that this is not a quick, easy project in regards to excavating the dinosaurs. This takes a lot of work and patience which was PERFECT for our school and for extending the play. Having a long-term project for the kids to return to over days and days provides opportunities to practice patience and perseverance.
