Summer Camp: Dinosaur Week
Summer is here! L made a list of things she wanted to learn about and do, and this week it’s all dinosaurs! Utah is such a great place to learn about them because there’s actually dinosaurs that have been discovered here, and work going on behind glass at the local museums. We started the week off with a trip to the library and borrowed a Dinosaur kit that included children’s books about dinosaurs, rented a couple of Land Before Time movies for fun, and found an amazing book by Google that showed lifelike illustrations of specific dinosaurs and their anatomical layers (muscle, bone, skin). L went through all of her books and just kept going- she wanted dinosaurs nonstop! She loved the songs in Land Before Time V (who knew they made that many!) and I thought the story was really cute. Read on for more activities we did.
Frozen Dinosaur Eggs
This ice water activity was perfect for the 96 degree weather outside. L helped me make the dinosaur eggs using balloons, little dinosaur toys we got at the dollar store, and water. We froze them overnight and peeled the balloons off to reveal some awesome frozen dinosaur eggs! The kids had to free them using spray bottles, a toy hammer, a rock they found, and water I added some blue food coloring to. Then they had some imaginative play and made habitats, found food for their new toys, and played until it was time for watermelon.
Snack: Dinosaur Muffins
These green muffins are made with spinach and apple sauce, and became Dinosaur themed with the addition of almonds in a single row on top to look like spikes. L loved it and immediately recognized stegosaurus!
Dinosaur Craft: Paper Banner
We gathered all our dinosaur toys and the kids played with them while I got the paper, scissors, and crayons ready. They talked with me about their favorite dinosaurs, what they looked like, and then they colored some creatures for us to hang. I helped draw some for L, and was so impressed by her color choices; I mean, just look at the beautiful detail on that triceratops frill and the facial features she made!
Dino Days Train
On our last day we took a family trip to the Heber Railway for Dino Days! We got to ride on a very old train, and had a cheesy good time. The dinosaur theme wasn’t prevalent on the ride, but there was a giant inflatable dinosaur above the train station. Upbeat songs played while some sweet young ladies dressed in dinosaur onesies encouraged dancing. The hosts were dressed in vests and hats kind of like paleontologists, but the only information they shared was that velociraptors are tiny and not scary because the creatures in the Jurassic Park movies are actually Utah Raptors. We learned that a “runaround” meant they switch the engine to the end of the car so that the train can switch directions on the same track since you can’t make a u-turn!
Do you see the inflatable dinosaur in the window?
The kids got to choose their own dinosaur toy, and then could dig for one in a pile of corn kernels at the station. They came home excited to play while watching Little Foot and reading about dinosaurs for bedtime. We plan to go to the local museum, too!
