Make your own dinosaur eggs!

When it comes to dinosaurs, there is hardly an Early Years setting that doesn't dig up a bone or two at some point during the year. Wherever I go, dinosaurs never fail to capture the imagination of lots of children.

 Imagine finding this box of goodies buried in your outdoor area!

all photos from and abcdoes project at Moor Park Primary find out more here

In most settings the dinosaur discovery starts with some bones or an egg. Bones are relitively easy to get hold of or make. Even if you haven't got a collection of sheeps skulls and foxes jaw bones like me, you can usually lay your hands on some big bones from the butcher and boil them until they are clean, or have a go at making your own.

Eggs can prove a little more difficult and you usually have to resort to good old papier mache and a balloon.

What I was after was a more 'realistic' dinosaur egg that would have some texture, a hard shell to crack and then 'something' inside to be discovered. Although we know that some dinosaurs were HUGE not all were. So, I was looking for something that you could make bigger or smaller depending on your species!

What I have come up with is a playdough hybrid recipe that you can bake in the oven, so you not only get a hard breakable outer crust (or shell) but you also get a gooey inside that allows you to hide a mini dinosaur, bone or treasure for discovery!

This recipe will give you four eggs (roughly the size of a baking potato!)

You need:

1 cup of plain flour

1 cup of used coffee grounds (the used ground beans from a coffee machine. If you don't have a coffee machine, ask at the large high street coffee retailers and they will usually give you as much as you can take away! They also make a great alternative to sand in your sand tray)

1/2 a cup of salt

1/4 of a cup of sand or soil

1/4 of a cup of water (to start with you may need more depending on how 'damp' your coffee is)

Something to hide inside your egg

What you do

• Mix all of the dry ingredients together

• Add the water and mix until you get a 'dough like' consistancy. Add more water if too dry or more of one of the dry ingredients if too wet.

NB - The stiffer you make your dough, the better it will hold its shape. If it is too 'springy' your egg will have a flat bottom!

• Take a handful of dough.
• Press your 'find' into the middle
• Shape like an egg

• Place on a greaseproof paper lined baking tray in the oven at 180 degrees for 35 mins (ish).

You need to extend or reduce the time depending on the size of your eggs. As long as the outside has gone hard and crusty, it doesn't really matter about the inside.

Just keep giving them a poke until the outside of your eggs feels 'rubbery'

They will harden up as they cool.

Once cooled, hide them and await the discovery!

Thanks to Pat at The Friars Primary for the donation of the luminous dinosaur!

The inside of the eggs stays hot for a while so be careful! Best leave them to cool overnight.

Even if you don't make the eggs, the coffee grounds dough is good to try as it has a lovely grainy texture.

You could also use the same recipe to make 'discovery stones' and hide gems or even pieces of long lost writing inside them - the possibilities are endless!

I hope your dinosaurs all lay well! If they do, please send me a photograph and any additions/amendments you make to the recipe so that I can share the dinosaur love!

 

Alistair

Comments

[Sophie Taylor]

These dino eggs are AMAZING!!! Shame it's come too late for our dinosaurs this year. I made some dinosaur eggs of my own using papier mache eggs (bought online), cut open and filled with a baby dinosaur. The best bit was the amniotic fluid which was made from thickening granuals and injected into the eggs. The children simply loved it, taking their newly hatched, goo-covered dino-babies off to the water tray for a wash and then to the malleable area to see which sort of food they'd like. Thay also worked in the workshop to make comfy beds for their dino-babies and wrote out birth certificates.
Will definitely try your eggs next time!

[abc does]

Sounds great Sophie - makes me want to go and inject things with thickening granules! I have used them before as a poor man's version of Gelli Baff but never as amniotic fluid! Will keep you posted. Thanks for the inspiration

Alistair

[tyranid]

Today generations we can only see the dinosaur on movies, books etc. But still looks like that they are still alive. this activity makes us refresh the life of dinosaur.

[Juliet@CreativeSTAR]

Goose eggs! These are significantly bigger than hen or duck eggs. They only are available at certain times of the year but it's well worth buying one or two - simply for the comments and comparing potential sizes of different birds and creatures.

Also have a look out on the ground near nests. Whilst it's illegal to disturb a nesting bird and its fledglings, if a nest has been abandoned then it's fine to have a look

[abc does]

Great idea Juliet- Thank you

Alistair

[Jacqueline]

Took inspiration from here when i wanted some dino eggs. Many many thanks, if you look here http://christ-church.blogspot.co.uk/2012/12/dinosaur-eggs.html you can see what we did (I only had whole grain flour so ours are a little bit rougher that yours!

[Matt Daniels]

Thanks! I can't wait to make these so I can have a "dinosaur egg hunt" at my son's dinosaur themed birthday party this weekend!