Backyard Summer Camp: Dinosaurs

Who doesn't love dinosaurs?! Herbivores, carnivores, Cretaceous, Jurassic...they're all fantastic. Check out these dinosaur-themed activities, easy crafts, and fun outings to fill another week of summer vacation.

We hope you have been enjoying the Backyard Summer Camp series so far. In case you've missed them, be sure to check out Wacky Sports Week, Under the Sea Week, Outer Space Week, and In Our Neighborhood Week.

Dinosaurs

Active Play

• ·      Ice Age (freeze toy dinosaurs in a plastic bin with water; the next day, kids use child-safe tools to break them out) 
• ·      Dig for Dinos (hide toy dinosaurs in a sandbox or a large bin filled with rice or bird seed)
• ·      Make dinosaur feet (tissue boxes with the top-slit opening, paint, sponges to cut & use for claws, glue)…then be sure to stomp around and roar! 

Diggin' for Dinos!

Quiet Play

• ·      Make “fossils” with air-dry clay and toy dinosaurs 
• ·      Make dinosaur terrariums (clear container, rocks, soil, plants, toy dinos) 
• ·      Make stand-up dinosaurs (cardboard, paint, safety scissors, and this freedownloadable template) 
• ·      Visit kidsdinos.com to play dinosaur games
•      Make dinosaur eggs early in the week; have a dino-egg hunt later on 
•      Make a Fruitasaurus Salad for lunch or a snack (watermelon, strawberries, orange, blueberries, and pineapple)
• ·      Make LEGO dinosaurs
• ·      Make dinosaurs with Play-Doh
• ·      Read stories about dinosaurs
• ·      Write a story together about what would happen if you saw a real dinosaur. Let kids illustrate.

Stomp, stomp, chomp, chomp...it's Fruitasaurus!

Field Trips

• ·      Check out a local science or natural history museum and visit the dinosaur display (Rochester Area: visit the Rochester Museum & Science Center to dig for mastodon bones)
• ·      Rochester/Buffalo Area: Visit the Penn Dixie dig site in Hamburg, NY
• ·      Go to the library for books about dinosaurs, such as the How Does A Dinosaur series by Jane Yolen, "Dinotrux" by Chris Gall, "I'm Bad" by Kate & Jim McMullan, "Beyond the Dinosaurs" by Charlotte Lewis Brown, "Boy, Were We Wrong About Dinosaurs!" by Kathleen V. Kudlinski, "Edwina The Dinosaur Who Didn't Know She Was Extinct" by Mo Willems, "Dora and Diego Help the Dinosaur" adapted by Lara Bergen & Ellie Seiss, "The Magic School Bus: Dinosaur Detectives" by Judith Bauer Stamper, and the dino-sports series by Lisa Wheeler: "Dino-Soccer," "Dino-Baseball," "Dino-Hockey," and "Dino-Football."

We hope you enjoy your Dinosaur Backyard Summer Camp Week! As always, thanks for reading.