Summer Fun - Dino Eggs

Looking for easy and fun ways to create connections, memories, and experiences with your kiddos during this last month of summer, that won't break the bank (or your patience!)?  Check out our post on Dig A Dozen Dino Eggs!

Summer may be on it's way out, but there's still plenty of time that needs to be filled if you've got little ones at home.  Even with camps, free-play, and excursions, I still find that we have pockets of time that need to be filled up (preferably without screens).  We've brought in a wide array of activities for kids, and we've been testing them out so we can share the parts we love and things we wish we'd known. 

Full disclosure:  we were given these Dig A Dozen Dino eggs as a gift back in April and the kids loved them so much, it led us into bringing them to Initial Attraction.  We actually did this Dino Egg kit on Easter morning, instead of dying eggs, and I think we ALL enjoyed it immensely more!

There are 12 individually wrapped dinosaur eggs that can be "excavated" with the tools provided (there are 12 different dinosaur types inside with illustrated cards to go with them).  I have a 9 year old daughter and a 4 year old son.  The kit was gifted to my son, who willingly shared as 12 eggs is a lot!  The beauty of this kit is that you can easily save eggs for another time or share (we did both - and everyone was still happy!).  The eggs are supposed to be dipped into water for a few minutes to soften them up -- it was fun to see how the kids approached them as a science experiment, testing to see what longer or shorter times (or no time at all) in the water proved.  My son liked dunking them over the long haul to get them super soft and then easily chunk them open to expose the dinosaurs inside.  My daughter preferred to keep the eggs completely dry and chip and sand away at them.  Both were able to work at their own speed, use their own approach, and have plenty of eggs to spare to try and test.  This is a toy where you get A LOT of bang for your buck.

Inside are tiny dinosaurs that we're hoping to use in our terrarium (stay tuned!).

What I wish I'd known:  While it was fun to do the eggs at Easter, it would have been even more enjoyable (for me) to do the eggs outside.  Cleanup isn't hard, but the eggs do create a (water soluble) mess, so it was nice to just hose off the outdoor table when we did them again in the summer.  Having said that, I used my trusty E-cloth when we did the eggs inside at Easter and cleanup was still fast and easy.

Level of involvement: The kids needed a little help in the beginning, reading the directions and getting set up, but once they were on their way, I was easily able to make breakfast while they excavated.  They did not need much involvement from me and were able to easily work side by side. This kept them busy for about an hour to an hour and a half (my daughter finished a little earlier).

Ages;  The box says 6+, but my 4 year old loved it.  If your little one is prone to putting things in their mouth and/or is still working on their manual dexterity, this project is definitely not for them.

Stop in at Initial Attraction and pick up a Dig a Dozen Dino Eggs kit and have a great time with playing with your kiddos!