Dinosaur Fossils for Kids

These Dinosaur Fossils for Kids are a simple salt dough craft perfect for kids.  Add your favorite dinosaur impressions, let dry, and add some metallic paint for a fun dinosaur craft dino lovers will enjoy!

DINOSAUR FOSSIL FOR KIDS

Dinosaur Crafts is one of our favorite crafts to make, my middle son has LOVED dinosaur crafts for the past few years and I don’t see his love of dinosaurs going away anytime soon, so until then we will craft on. Some of our favorite dinosaur activities have been our dinosaur lanterns, paper plate dinosaurs and our dinosaur bath bombs.  Dinosaur fossils aren’t exactly anything new to the crafting world but we decided to take it one step further and paint our dinosaur fossils in some fun metallic craft paint.  These paint colors are “stone-like” and bring out the dino fossil details in a fun way.

DINOSAUR FOSSILS. TWO WAYS. 

After you make your dinosaur fossils there are two ways you can enjoy them for play

• Natural Fossils – once you allow your salt dough fossils to completely dry on both sides they are hardened and perfect for play.  You can set them up in your child’s room or “hide” them in sand and allow your kids to search for them. 
• Metallic Fossils – adding a touch of metallic paint brought out the fun details of the dinosaurs we imprinted and made it easier to see vs the natural fossil look.  Either option is fun! We chose BRONZE, SILVER, and GOLD metallic paint. 

DINOSAUR FOSSIL FOR KIDS VIDEO

 

HOW TO MAKE SALT DOUGH FOSSILS

1. Make a simple batch of salt dough my whisking together 1 cup flour and 1/2 cup of salt.  Add 1/2 cup of water and mix until combined.  Knead dough on a lightly floured surface until you have a soft dough, about 5 minutes. 
2. Roll your dough to about a 1/4 inch to 1/2 inch thickness, the thicker you roll out the salt dough the longer it will take to dry.  Don’t make it too thin or your dinosaur impressions will go through to the other side. 
3. Use your favorite dinosaurs and push them lightly into the salt dough. We chose a mixture between skeleton dinosaurs and more “real life.”
4. Place your dinosaur fossils on a cookie sheet and allow to dry in a preheated 200 degrees oven or the lowest your oven can go.  Turn your fossils every 30 minutes until both sides are fully dry.  You can also leave your dinosaur fossils out to dry in the air but depending on the time of the year this could take a few days, so whatever method works best for you.
5. Once hard and dry you can leave as is or add some metallic paint to your dinosaur fossils.