Explore and create dinosaur fossil art with these fun, process-based activities meant to encourage learning in toddlers and preschoolers.
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*Dinosaur Fossil Art was inspired by The Keeper of the Memories! Thanks for sharing!
Dinosaur Fossil Dig
This dinosaur fossil activity is so fun, and it’s great for strengthening those fine motor muscles! Plus, it’s simple to put together.
What you need:
- Plastic bins
- Sensory items (cotton balls, shredded paper, dry beans, dry rice, etc.)
- Dry pasta noodles (a few different shapes)
- Small container for collecting the noodles
What to do:
- First, fill each plastic bin with a different sensory item.
- Then, add in a few of each kind of noodle. Mix in.
- Encourage the child to “dig” for the noodles. Keep them in a small container to use as bones in an upcoming activity.
Kids LOVE exploring sensory bins and adding this new element of searching for dinosaur fossil bones adds a whole new exciting element
Dinosaur Rescue
Keep up with the dinosaur fun! We love this dinosaur rescue activity because it keeps those brains and muscles moving!
What you need:
- Toy dinosaurs
- Wall, window, or other vertical surface
- Painter’s tape
What to do:
- First, tape the dinosaurs to the vertical surface with painter’s tape.
- Then, encourage the child to “save” the dinosaurs by removing the tape and freeing the dinosaurs.
It sounds simple, but the kids love this activity. They love anything sticky and they love anything dinosaur, so it definitely was a favorite. Plus, they loved the act of “saving” the dinosaurs.
Dinosaur Fossil Art
These art pieces may turn out to look exactly like a dinosaur skeleton lying in the dirt. But they may not, and that’s okay. The important part of this project is the process. The kids are improving fine motor skills, practicing creativity, and exploring science, and a beautiful product is simply a bonus – not the goal.
Before beginning the project, look at some photos or illustrations of dinosaur fossils. Ask these types of questions:
- What do you notice about the skeleton in the photo?
- Can you tell where the head, tail, stomach, teeth, etc. are in the photo?
- Which dinosaur would you like to create?
- How will you arrange the noodles to make this dinosaur?
What you need:
- Thick black paper, panel, or canvas
- Glue
- Dry pasta noodles (you can use the dry noodles collected in the Dinosaur Fossil Dig activity or you can grab different shaped noodles from your cabinet)
What to do:
- Using dinosaur pictures as inspiration (we loved the full-page spread of Sue in When Sue Found Sue by Toni Buzzeo, encourage the child to arrange the noodles onto the black paper.
- Give the kids the freedom to explore how they’d like to create. Some may want to glue and stick each individual noodle. Others will put glue all over the paper and then stick the noodles to that. And a few may even lay out exactly where they want their noodles and then glue them down. There are only right ways to glue noodles onto paper!
- Let the art dry and then show it off to family and friends!
Dinosaur Fossil Book: When Sue Found Sue by Toni Buzzeo
This is one of my FAVORITE dinosaur books ever. Sue Hendrickson grew up always looking for things, so it was natural that she would be the one to discover Sue, the most complete T-Rex fossil that’s been discovered.
It’s a true story told in picture book form. The illustrations are beautiful, and if you live near Chicago or are traveling to Chicago – you must see Sue at the Field Museum!
*Fun fact about Sue the dinosaur – her head is actually too heavy to put on the actual fossil display, so they made a lighter head to display. The real head is in a case on the balcony above Sue.
There’s More!
Check out one of our other favorite dinosaur activities here!
We also have a dinosaur recipe that’s great to make with kids. Find it here.
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