DIY dino dig

The American Museum of Natural History has a wonderful dino dig in their Discovery Center. It uses wax and sand as the matrix material, like the Carnegie Museum in Pittsburgh. The benefit of this material is that it’s easier to scrape with just a cold chisel rather than needing a hammer like the plaster of Paris ones. After visiting last weekend we decided to make our own at home.

A 50% off coupon from AC Moore bought us a cheap 10lb block of paraffin wax. The sand is all purpose sand from Lowes. The dinos, horses, and brownie pans are from the dollar store. 6 cups of sand to 2 1/2 lbs of wax was enough to fill both pans. We added one layer then squished the critters into it, followed by another layer over it all.

It definitely takes time and some effort to uncover the fossils, but an activity that the kids can use for a few weeks was the point. We place the pans inside a larger tray to catch the wax so we can remelt it all again in the future.