My little man LOVES Dinosaurs, so I thought this was a super fun way to get his inner Archeologist juices flowing : )
It’s so easy to prepare and very inexpensive to make too!
I found this idea via Pinterest and have been in love ever since!
You can make these over and over again and the kids will delight EVERY single time!
To make your own you will need:
Balloons (the larger sized ones work best – we used 30cm rounds)
Small Plastic Dinosaur Toys
Water
Food dye (optional)
Hammer
Safety goggles
Step 1
Take your toy Dinosaurs and insert them into the balloons…at first this will seem difficult, but once you get onto the second one it’s very easy! Just gradually worm the balloon over the Dinosaur ensuring to be a little gentle as you don’t want to pierce the balloon with any spiky dino parts.
Step 2
Take your Dino-stuffed balloon and fill it with water!
You can also add a few drops of food colouring at this point for extra effect!
Step 3
Transport your future frozen fossils (or FFF’s as we call them in the business ; ) to the freezer and let them freeze over night.
Step 4
Once frozen, pull the balloon off the frozen egg…you might need scissors to get it started, but once it starts coming off, it’s really quite easy.
Don’t they look cool! It’s almost a shame to SMASH them…except that’s where the REAL fun starts!
Step 5
Take a hammer and start excavating to get to those Dinosaurs!
We started out with some very child friendly plastic hammers, but they were really not doing the job! So then we tried using a standard ‘Dad’ hammer and it worked a treat! (please note, I gave strict instructions to Master 5 before he started and we also used safety goggles – I highly recommend you do the same…there is no fun in injuries!)
The kids were so excited to retrieve their Dinosaurs after all of their hard work! I enjoyed watching them smash, crash and bash their way to the prize!
This was such a great activity! I’m already having great plans to freeze little chickens in frozen eggs for Easter too!
If you would like some other Dino related Activities from Paging Fun Mums, then check out:
Jen x
This is a fabulous idea and I cannot wait to try it, but as an archaeologist I need to make one comment. Paleontology is the study of dinosaurs. Archaeology is the study of past human activities. They are quite often confused but there is a distinct difference.
Yes! Thank you, Jenn, my thoughts exactly. I am an archaeologist too, with a four-year old son who adores dinosaurs. I was scrolling down to leave a comment about the common misconception that dinosaurs are studied by archaeologists instead of paleontologists, and was so glad that your comment was already there.
It’s also ‘archaeologists’ – there was an ‘a’ missing from her spelling. My hubby is an archaeologist and always gets asked if he has found dinosaur bones….. Oh dear
Love ure ideas.x
The dino egg is such a great idea. My 4 yr old son loved this and we are headed back to the store soon to get more balloons!
http://www.mommymoments.org
They ARE fun! Love your colored version and those dino corn cob holders are OFF THE HOOK!
The dinosaurs are a great idea
good
This is such a COOL Idea!!! My kids are going to love it! Thanks for sharing 😉
I really like this. We will be trying this with our 4 yr old the only thing I will do differently is I will put it in the bath tub so it can melt during her bath instead of using a hammer.
Way fun activity! My three year boy loves it. Thank you for sharing your idea!
J’adooore! Merci pour ces bonnes idées!
I saw your frozen dino eggs on Pinterest and loved your idea! I have sturdy balloons and small dinos, but am having a really hard time getting the dinosaurs inside the balloon. I’ve even tried forceps (small salad tongs) to pry open the balloon opening as wide as I could but it isn’t deep enough and the legs are getting stuck. I even set aside the stegosaurus ones to eliminate the spikes. The slender ones still don’t want to go in! Do you have any suggestions for me? Thanks for sharing so many fun ideas!
Hi Lori,
Sorry to hear that your dinosaurs won’t fit! You might be able to try this trick I found on Pinterest a while ago – http://goodideasforyou.com/mix-a-match/2714-how-to-fill-balloons-with-goodies.html
Louise x
Thanks, Louise! This looks like a great tip! I’m going to give it a try! Thanks so much!
Lori
I did this at my childcare centre. I placed some dirt in the balloon as well.
I hid them in the sandpit for the children to dig up.very excited children
Hi, love this idea totally! I tried it over the weekend and am having a real hard time filling water into the balloon. Is there any trick on filling the water? I used sturdy balloons and large ones as well. any advise would help!
Thanks, Grace