If you’ve got a budding palaeontologist or dinosaur fan in the house, this dinosaur dig challenge is sure to be a big hit! It’s a great dinosaur activity for a preschool or early years setting or for any age child learning about dinosaurs!

We made the bones with air-drying clay, but salt dough would also work well. We already had the sand and tray so this cost me less than £5 to put together and has been used almost daily all summer so far.

You’ll need

A large container

Play sand

Air drying clay

Old toothbrush or paintbrush.

How to set up a dinosaur dig activity

First, you need to make the bones. Choose a dinosaur and find a picture of the skeleton.

Use the air-drying clay to make bone shapes and leave them to dry for about 24 hours.

Fill a tray with sand and place the clay dinosaur skeleton on top of the sand. Cover with a thin layer of sand.

Children can use a toothbrush or small paintbrush to brush the sand off the bones gently.

Once the bones have been uncovered you can set it up again and start over.

Another idea is to mix up the bones and ask children to put them back together again using an image of a skeleton as a guide.

More dinosaur activity ideas for kids

Learn about waterproof materials with a simple Save the Dinosaur activity.

Find out about different types of rocks with my rock lab challenges!

Learn about one of the most famous paleontologists in the world, Mary Anning!

Little Bins for Little Hands has a great fizzy dino egg activity.

Find out what dinosaurs ate with a hilarious dinosaur poop activity.

Learn about fossils, how they form and make your own!

Last Updated on August 7, 2023 by Emma Vanstone