Dino-myte
Go digging. Embed plastic dinosaurs in “stone” and let your amateur paleontologist dig them out:
- Mix together equal parts of plaster of paris (find it at craft or hardware stores), vermiculite (available at gardening stores), and water in a disposable bowl.
- Drop in a few dinosaur figures and cover with the mixture.
- Let harden for an hour and then slip the entire thing out of the mold.
- Give your child a toy hammer and some plastic or wooden digging tools so he can unearth the dinos.
Play “Scientist Says.” There’s no Simon in this game. He’s replaced by a scientist, who directs kids to take huge steps like a diplodocus; small, hopping steps like a velociraptor; and pretend to fly like a pteranodon. Need more dino names and facts to play? Check out the Jurassic Park Institute’s Dinopedia or the Dino Dictionary for pictures and information about hundreds of dinosaurs.
Have a dino movie night. The Land Before Time ($15 DVD, Universal) is fun, not-too-scary inspiration for the budding preschool dino freak, while Disney’s Dinosaur ($20 DVD or VHS) will thrill older kids and parents with its incredible special effects and loads of educational moments. The Emmy Award–winning series Walking With Dinosaurs ($30 DVD, $5 VHS, BBC Video) is sure to please school-age siblings with its animatronics and digital effects, as will Dinotopia ($11 DVD or VHS, Hallmark), which offers a blend of science and imagination (in this story, dinosaurs and humans coexist).
Listen to oldies. What dino lover wouldn’t dig the “Hokey Pokeysaurus,” “Dem Bones,” and “I Know an Old Dino”? Find them on Music for Little People’s Most Amazing Dinosaur Songs ($10 CD; mflp.com or 800-409-2457).
