Materials: medium to large container, sand, dog bones, paint brushes, pith helmets (optional)
- Pour sand into your container, filling it about 1/4 full or high enough to cover all of the bones
- Bury the bones throughout the sand, making sure they are completely covered
- Offer your child the pith helmet (optional) to add an element of dramatic play as they act as a paleontologist
- Share that paintbrushes are used to uncover the bones in the sand and that the bones shouldn’t be picked up out of the sand until they are completely uncovered
- Allow your child time to explore the sensory bin while they discover how many bones are hidden beneath the sand
- Your child can count how many bones they find and guess at which types of bones have been found (leg bones, hip bones, rib bones, etc.)
- Discuss with your child what the job of a paleontologist is (to discover, preserve and learn about dinosaur bones), why it is important to be gentle with fossils (so they do not break) and what we can learn from fossils (the size, shape and type of dinosaurs, how they moved, where they lived, etc.)
- Once all of the bones have been found they can be hidden again for continued use
- Enjoy!