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Explore · Wild and Tumble activity

Little fossil dig

Dig like a palaeontologist! Uncover hidden "fossils" in the sandpit with brushes and spoons.

  • 20 min total
  • Some mess
  • Ages 2–5*
  • Outdoors
  • Any season
Let's do this

*Illustrative age guidance. Your child's development and circumstances matter more than a number.

A tiny plan for your day

Estimated time: 5 min to hide · 13 min to dig · 2 min to tidy. It's fine to stop early.

Before you start

What you’ll need

  • A sandpit or tray of sand
  • Shells, interesting stones and toy dinosaurs to bury
  • Paintbrushes and spoons

Let's begin

Five simple steps

That's the whole activity. Tick each step off as you go, and stop whenever you like.

  1. Grown-up job

    An adult buries the "fossils" in the sand.

  2. Little one leads

    Your child digs gently with a spoon.

  3. Brush the sand away slowly, like a real fossil hunter.

  4. What did you find? A shell? A dinosaur?

  5. Lay them out in a "museum" and talk about each one.

All done!

That's every step. However it went, you made a little moment together.

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