southern fried gal

One of the perks of having your best friend own a consignment store is getting first dibs on the good stuff! Case-in-point, this I Dig Dinosaurs kit came into the shop last week. It had not been opened. The original price was $25 and I probably would not have given this product a second look. Kendra thought this would be a nice project for BBC so she purchased it for us.

I admit I was intrigued but a bit apprehensive. The box promised fun and easy clean-up. We decided to give it a try on Friday. The box was HEAVY and I didn’t really know what to expect.

I certainly didn’t expect this big, heavy block of sand! The instructions called for newspaper. In all my type A glory I knew newspaper would not properly contain the mess. And because it was over 100 degrees on Friday we were looking for some indoor fun. This plastic tub seemed like the best solution.

The kit came equipped with everything a young paleontologist would need for the excavation, chisel, hammer, brush, and protective glasses. Safety first!

Because I had no idea where the bones were inside the block and I had no idea how sturdy they were, we were very careful in our digging. It seemed to take FOREVER or at least 30 minutes to find anything resembling a bone.

Patience is not one of my strengths so I now know I could never be a real paleontologist. BBC carefully worked to reveal more bones. I was actually surprised this kept his attention so long and that he was being so careful.

All-in-all it took about 1.5 hours to loose all the bones. Again, I am surprised and elated that it kept BBC’s undivided attention during this entire time.

By the time we had all the bones unearthed, DH was home and he took on phases 2 and 3 of the project. Here you can see the bones being assembled. Final step was to paint the bones to imitate fossilized bones. DH and BBC got a little carried away with the black and brown paint for my taste – oh well.

I’m so glad this kit came in Kendra’s store. It provided hours of educational fun for the entire family! The cleanup was easy (a little vacuuming here and there). The remaining sand and block are still in the bin. BBC got out his Dinosaur figures and is using this as terrain for new imagined adventures! I would recommend this kit to other families – even with the $25 price tag!

How are you entertaining the kiddos during this heat wave? Stop back tomorrow to get the scoop on my next Let’s Party! series (hint hint).

~Southern Fried Gal