DIY Dinosaur Fossils Matching Game
This is a sponsored post in collaboration with Amazon Prime Video.
These easy to make DIY Dinosaur Fossils are made from a simple salt dough and they’re a craft even the littlest kids will love.
Both of my kids are dinosaur obsessed. My son has been since he was little but even my daughter wants in on the dinosaur fun. The day we made these DIY Dinosaur Fossils, she played with them for hours. She even loves to play with her brother’s old dinosaur toys and she eagerly watches his favorite dinosaur shows with him. So when I heard about Amazon Prime Video’s newest show – Dino Dana, I knew it was something I had to watch with Evie. The series premieres May 26th but we had a chance to pre-screen a few episodes and she’s hooked. We both are. Every since watching the show, she runs around the house exclaiming “dino” when she wants us to bring out the dinosaur toys. Since the weather was beautiful this weekend, I thought it was the perfect time to make some DIY dinosaur fossils.
These DIY Dinosaur Fossils are super easy to make using a 3-ingredient salt dough recipe, some toy dinosaurs, and your child’s imaginations.
The first thing we made was the salt dough. This is a great project for older kids to make, since Evie is a little younger her brother and I helped her with this part.
SALT DOUGH REwCIPE
- 4 cups of flour
- 1 cup of salt
- 2 cups of water (plus more if needed)
- Brown gel food coloring (optional)
Once the dough was made, I added a little brown gel food coloring and gently mixed it in. Then I rolled out the dough and cut out circles in two different sizes (about 3 inches and 5 inches). I placed the cut-outs on a foil lined baking sheet and took the fun outside.
We set them up on the table and lined up the dinosaurs, some insects, and a plastic plant.
We showed her how to press the dinosaurs into the salt dough and she was off.
She had so much fun. We made casts of the dinosaurs different footprints, their faces and even their full bodies.
Some we even imprinted the insects and pieces of the plants.
Once all the casts were made, I placed them in a 350 degree oven for about 1 1/2 hours. You can leave them to dry overnight too but they kids wanted to play with them.
Once they cooled off, Evie carried them all over the yard with her dinosaurs.
We even used them as a matching game. We tried matching the fossils to the toy dinosaurs using their bodies and footprints. I wrote the names of the dinosaurs on the back of each fossil for word recognition as well.
I’ll be the first to say I love the show just as much as my daughter. It’s super cute and I cannot wait to see more. Preschoolers and even the older kids will love the dinosaur adventures and action packed into each episode.
Now we can play with our dinosaur fossils and learn the dinosaurs’ names and more while we watch Dino Dana on Amazon Prime Video.
Do your kids love dinosaurs as much as mine do? If you answered yes, you will not want to miss Dino Dana premiering Friday, May 26th!
Dawn
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When my kids were really little they loved dinosaurs and we had a ton of fun making fossils but ours weren’t like yours. We actually covered chicken bones in playdough and let them harden so the kids could “chisel” the fossil out.
Oh man, I was OBSESSED with dinosaurs as a kid – and I would’ve loved this!!! My toddler seems to be getting a little interest in dinosaurs, so this might be something fun to do in a year or two. Thanks so much for sharing!! <3
what an awesome way to get kids to be hand on and learn. I love this. So does the kid who was reading this over my shoulder. He says thumbs up.
This is a cute idea. I know my son would like this game, he is into dinosaurs. I’l have to take his toys and make some of my own.
This is such a clever and fun kids craft with an easy recipe. I love that you made it educational too. Although I’m not familiar with Dino Dana, I am sure the children love it. The video isn’t working right now.
What a fun party game this would make for a dino-themed party. It’s so educational and fun at the same time.
Oh my goodness. this is super cute. My son loves dinosaurs and I think he would get a kick out of this project. Thanks for sharing!
My son is OBSESSED with dinosaurs thanks to grandma. I’m always looking for new crafts to do with him that’ll keep his interest, and this definitely will!
We made these cookies with the kids when they were in 4H. Yours came out so much better! The kids loved them! Who doesn’t like Dinos?
Thanks for sharing… my son would love this!! He is all about the dinos 🙂
Ok this project is too adorable! I want to try it with my kiddos this summer. Lots of time to fill up! Bwah!
How would you store extra salt dough? Thank you!