After looking on the Internet for Dino Dig Kits I found an awesome blog called Mallard Cove Mommy, and immediately became inspired to create individual dig kits for all the kids. For my first practice attempt I made the salt dough recipe for my base, as described on the Mallard Cove Mommy site, but I wanted the dig to be more challenging than just sweeping away some loose sand, so I came up with a way to harden the sand into a nice crusty top. I mixed 2 cups of water with 1 tsp of cornstarch on the stove until it thickened, and added it to 4 cups of sand. Then I spread 2 cups of the sand mixture on top of the dinosaur skeleton and salt dough mold, and baked it in the oven at 180 for 2 hrs. When I took it out, the consistency of the sand was perfect, but as I dug to the bottom I realized what I already knew to be true; the salt dough had become wet and gooey from the sand mixture, which meant I had to come up with a new plan.
I decided to do a base of a more concentrated sand/cornstarch mixture, rather than using salt dough.
I mixed 1/2 cup of cornstarch with 4 cups of water and thickened it on the stove.
Then I added the mixture to 8 cups of sand and mixed it well (I was making 8 kits, and each kit needs 2 cups of the sand mixture for its base, so I made a double batch). Once the ingredients were all incorporated, I pressed 2 cups of the sand mixture into the bottom of a small aluminium pan I had purchased from the dollar store, and pressed the dinosaur fossils into it (I made sure to rock my skeletons back and forth a bit in order to get a good impression so they would fit back into the mold later).
When I was satisfied with the imprints, I took the skeletons out of the pans and baked the sand molds for 2 hrs at 180.
When I took them out of the oven they were as hard as concrete, which is exactly what I wanted! I fitted the Dino skeletons back into their molds and sprinkled some loose sand on top of the fossils.
Then I made a more diluted version of the sand mixture for the top that the kids would actually be able to dig through. This time I only added 2 tsp of cornstarch to 4 cups of water, and stirred it while it thickened on the stove. Then I added the cornstarch mixture to another 8 cups of sand (again, I ended up making a double batch for my 8 kits). I shovelled 2 cups of the diluted sand mixture on top of each the dinosaur fossils, and smoothed it out. I baked the kits for another 2 hours at 180.
When they came out of the oven, I was really pleased with the consistency of the sand. It wasn’t too hard for the kids to break through on their own with the tools provided, and yet it would give them a bit of a challenge. The only thing I was disappointed with was that the base had absorbed the water from the top layer, and was no longer super hard, which meant that the fossil imprint would be lost as soon as the dinosaurs were excavated. Maybe if I had baked them longer the base would have hardened up again, but seeing that the sand was already at a good, crusty consistency, I decided to leave it as is.
I printed off the corresponding Dinosaur cards from the Dinosaur Train website, as suggested on the Mallard Cove Mommy blog, and glued them onto the insides of the lids.
Lastly, I sealed the containers, printed off some labels, and gathered some excavating tools for each of the kids to use (a plastic spoon and knife, a long wooden coffee stir stick, a magnifying glass, and a paint brush), which I purchased from the dollar store.
I’ll let you know how the excavation went in my next blog post about M’s Prehistoric Dino Party!
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Please may I ask you a huge favor, do you mind emailing me your exact recipe, I think I am following the above incorrectly, and I keep messing these kits up. Yours looked incredible! I need help.
Also what sand did you buy and where did you find the magnifying glass
need help pleaseeeee
Hi Tanya!
I bought a bag of Quickrete Play Sand: https://www.lowes.ca/sand/quikrete-20kg-play-sand_g1359616.html (I found it at Toys R Us in the summer, but you can also get it at Lowe’s or other hardware stores).
It’s been quite a long time since I last made these, but I remember I originally wanted the bottom layer to be really hard so it would keep the impression of the dinosaur skeletons, but the bottom layer ended up absorbing the water from the top layer, and it didn’t work out as planned.
If I made these again, I would recommend using this recipe to save extra time:
* Mix 1 tbsp of cornstarch with 4 cups of water and heat on the stove until it thickens, stirring occasionally.
*Mix the cornstarch mixture with 8 cups of play sand in a large bowl
*Press 2 cups of the sand/cornstarch mixture into the bottom of 2 small pans and press the dinosaur into the sand.
*Measure out one more cup of the sand/cornstarch mixture and spread it evenly on top, covering the dinosaur completely.
*bake in the oven @ 200 and check after 2 hours to make sure it is hardening to the right consistency. Bake longer, if needed, and check every 30 min.
I found the magnifying glasses at Dollarama (most Dollar Stores probably carry them) by the office/school supplies. I bought the paint brushes from there as well in the arts/crafts section.
I hope this helps!
I am going to make these for my nephew’s party this weekend. I am afraid of melting the dinosaurs. I assume the sand/cornstarch mixture prevents that from happening. My nephew is 5, do you think the mixture will be too hard? Thanks for any tips.
Hi Molly!
I remember my biggest worry was that the dinosaurs would melt in the oven, so I did a couple of practice ones to play with the consistency of the sand, and to make sure the dinos were ok. It depends on the type of plastic the dinosaurs are made from, but mine ended up being fine. I would suggest experimenting with one dinosaur ahead of time to see how it turns out! I made these for my son’s third birthday party and our guests ranged in ages from 2-7yrs. They all seemed to really enjoy it, and they had no problems with the digging. One thing I didn’t include in my post were protective glasses. As with anything that involves chiseling, protective glasses are always a good idea ;).
The dinosaur eggs were a really fun activity too. The kids loved hunting for the eggs and then smashing them open to reveal the dinos inside. You can find the recipe for those here: https://busybugs.co/2012/10/ms-prehistoric-dino-party.html
Let me know how your dig kits turn out! Good luck!
Do you think these will last a few weeks if I make them early for my sons birthday I was doing a test run and they came out exactly how I wanted so I made more because I was excited it worked so well but now I’m worried they may get moldy or something before the party in 3 weeks because they may be a bit damp on the bottom
Hi Victoria!
Sorry I was late getting back to you! I’m glad you were pleased with the results of the kits :). I made my kits a couple weeks ahead of time and there were no mold issues. I hope your son enjoys his dino party!
I’m having trouble with the coffee part for the dinosaur eggs. Do you happen to know if you used the espresso grounds or drip grounds? The espresso seems to fine and it taking FOREVER to dry out. I’m thinking that drip grounds may be a better consistency.
Thanks!!
Hi Michelle!
To be honest, I have no idea. I made these a few years ago. I just went into StarBucks and asked for a bag of their coffee grounds. If you are finding it is taking way too long to dry, you could also put them on a baking sheet and bake them in the oven at a low temp. That will help to dry them out more quickly. If you think the drip grounds will work better, then definitely use those :).