Dinosaur Crafts and Activities for Kids

Few things capture children's imaginations like dinosaurs: huge, mysterious and long gone. These crafts and activities turn that excitement into creativity, science and learning, from fossil digs and footprint measuring to dinosaur egg hunts.

Dinosaur facts to share

• Dinosaurs lived for more than 160 million years and died out about 66 million years ago.
• Scientists learn about dinosaurs from fossils: bones, teeth, footprints and even eggs turned to stone.
• Some dinosaurs ate plants (herbivores, like Triceratops and Stegosaurus), and some ate meat (carnivores, like Tyrannosaurus rex).
• Birds are living relatives of dinosaurs.
• People and dinosaurs never lived at the same time.

Crafts

1. Paper plate dinosaur. Fold a plate in half for the body and add a head, legs and spikes. Color our dinosaur pages first for ideas.
2. Toilet-roll dinosaur. Paint a tube green and add paper spikes. See toilet roll crafts.
3. Salt dough fossils. Press shells, leaves or toy dinosaurs into salt dough, then bake and paint.
4. Dinosaur eggs. Mix used coffee grounds, flour, salt and water, shape it around a small toy dinosaur and let it dry. Children "hatch" the egg with tools.
5. Stegosaurus spikes. Use triangles of paper, or clothes pegs as spikes on a cardboard dinosaur.
6. Handprint dinosaurs. Turn a handprint into a long-necked dinosaur with the thumb as the neck.
7. Dinosaur masks. Paper plate masks with teeth and horns.
8. Dinosaur puppets. Stick puppets from colored pages. See puppet making.

Science activities

1. Fossil dig. Bury toy dinosaurs or "bones" (pasta or sticks) in a sand tray. Excavate with brushes and spoons like a paleontologist.
2. Ice excavation. Freeze small dinosaurs in ice and free them with warm water, salt and droppers.
3. Footprint measuring. Some dinosaur footprints were huge. Measure your own footprints, then draw a giant one and compare. Try our measurement worksheets.
4. How long? Measure out the length of a T. rex (about 12 meters, or 40 feet) in the garden or a hallway with string.
5. Sorting. Sort toy dinosaurs into plant-eaters and meat-eaters, or by size, then make a graph.
6. Volcano. Make a baking-soda volcano in a dinosaur landscape. See kitchen science experiments.

Math and literacy

• Dinosaur counting. Count dinosaurs into groups and add them up.
• Dino sizes. Compare sizes: which is longest, tallest, heaviest? Try comparing numbers.
• Dinosaur names. Many names mean something. Tyrannosaurus rex means "tyrant lizard king," and Triceratops means "three-horned face."
• Dinosaur stories. Write a story about a dinosaur who visits your house.
• Dinosaur alphabet. A dinosaur for every letter, from Ankylosaurus to Zuniceratops.

Games

• Dinosaur egg hunt. Hide plastic eggs with small dinosaurs inside.
• Stomp and freeze. Stomp like a dinosaur and freeze when the music stops.
• Dinosaur says. Like Simon says, with dinosaur moves.
• Memory game. Play our memory game or make dinosaur pairs.
• Maze. Help the baby dinosaur find its egg with a maze.

Ideas by age

Ages 2–4: dinosaur coloring, stomping games, ice excavations and fossil digs.

Ages 5–7: paper plate dinosaurs, dinosaur eggs, footprint measuring and dinosaur stories.

Ages 8–11: researching specific dinosaurs, measuring life-size lengths, timelines and making dinosaur fact books.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Mixing up eras. People and dinosaurs never lived together. It's a fun thing to discuss.
• Too-scary dinosaurs for little ones. Choose friendly pictures.
• Forgetting the outdoors. Fossil digs and measuring work best outside.

Frequently asked questions

When did dinosaurs live?

Dinosaurs lived from about 230 million years ago until about 66 million years ago.

How big was a T. rex?

Tyrannosaurus rex could be around 12 meters (40 feet) long.

Are birds really dinosaurs?

Yes. Scientists consider birds to be living descendants of dinosaurs.

Plan a dinosaur day

Morning: a fossil dig in the sand tray, then sorting dinosaurs into plant-eaters and meat-eaters.

Late morning: make paper plate dinosaurs or salt dough fossils.

Lunch: dinosaur-shaped sandwiches cut with cookie cutters and "dino eggs" (grapes or boiled eggs).

Afternoon: measure a T. rex in the garden with string, then measure footprints.

Late afternoon: dinosaur coloring and a dinosaur story.

Evening: hatch a homemade dinosaur egg.

What are some dinosaur names kids love?

Tyrannosaurus rex, Triceratops, Stegosaurus, Velociraptor, Brachiosaurus, Ankylosaurus and Spinosaurus are all favorites.

How can I make dinosaurs educational for older kids?

Research a dinosaur and make a fact file: name, meaning, size, diet, when and where it lived. Compare dinosaurs using graphs.

Dinosaur books and learning

Picture books, fact books and fossil guides are all great for dinosaur fans. Look for books with real fossil photos and reconstructions, and ask your librarian for age-appropriate titles. Many natural history museums also have family trails and fossil galleries worth a visit.

What's the best dinosaur activity for a rainy day?

An indoor fossil dig in a tray of rice or sand, followed by dinosaur coloring and a dinosaur story. It's calm, hands-on and easy to tidy away.