Digging for Dinos

My third science related kit was inspired by the Dino Skull toob from Safari Ltd(c).  I've been wishing for some dearticulated skeleton that would be easy to put back together, but hadn't really found one.  So when I saw these, I thought "hey, I could just make one.  Maybe some beads, or some Crayola Model Magic?  Easy peasy!"

I was wrong.  It wasn't easy at all, but I gave it a try anyway.

I started with four skulls: T. rex, Brachiosaurus, Velociraptor and Dracosaurus.  In order to make my skeletons, I had to look up some images on Google.  I got a few good ones, determined the ratio between their sketches and my skulls, and had to decide which bones got the ax.  

One of the skulls proved too tempting for a girl who grew up wanting to be a Dragonrider (courtesy of McCaffrey and Pern).  I decided to make my own creature.  

My blueprints

Then came the intense, PAINSTAKING process of creation.  Imagine me sitting in front of the TV for hours, referring back to my blueprints, sculpting.  I think a grand total of 10 hours went into this, but to be honest, it could have been more.  I wish I had taken longer.  The end result:

Draconis ruffus: vertebrae and wing bones use wire, guarding eggs 

Velociraptor: arms and legs of Model Magic, all else of pipe cleaners and wooden beads

Brachiosaurus: Model Magic, hemp and wire for the rib bones

Clearly, the different materials reflect the different types of creatures.  Yeah.  That's it.  Nothing to do with me attempting to make my life/job easier.  I left the last skull and a package of Model Magic in the kit for the boys to make their own skeleton.  Educator to the core (again, not me being lazy!).

In any case, my next step was the burial.  I added a few other random dinosaur related items, like clay Velociraptor claws and a hand sculpted trilobite.  I finished the kit up with a pair of kid sized goggles, a set of small tools from Discovery Kids, a clipboard and the above info sheets.

Draconis and Velociraptor in their final resting places

Brachiosaurus took a bit more room.
Note the hemp keeping the ribs together

What a giant.

Side note, I would love to ride that thing.  Having stood under a giraffe as its head loomed towards mine to eat from my hands though, I know I would be terrified.  Nevertheless, I wish I could have seen one of these in person.

Though, I suppose I'm one of the few who have come fairly close.
 

Dino Keeper (AKA Roving Naturalist) at Brookfield Zoo

Me, my brothers (outside boys) and cousins chilling with Baby Apatasaurus

This was Q's birthday gift, delivered a bit late, and right after M's birthday.  We decided to start with Q's, since his birthday comes first and its more of an outside gift and the light was going.

Digging In

Eye protection is woefully absent, barely visible mid bottom of the photo

Q found some Velociraptor arms

M found a Velociraptor spine

Digging with our awesome tools

6-in-1 Field Tools from Discovery Kids

Q with his finished Brachiosaurus skeleton

I took video, but it didn't turn out very well, understandably.  It was pretty late and I was using my phone to take the video.  M was making some good observations, but he kept getting cut off by his little brother.

"You think those are it?"  - Me

"Yeah, see?  Three fingers, three fingers!" - Q

"How bout when we're done, we take a picture of it?" - Q

"The teensy one goes to his face.  See?  The teensyone, then the face!  Okay, now the face!" - Q

The end result of all that hard work.

And to tie everything together, info sheets on the back of the blueprints

I showed them how to carefully brush away the sand that covered the bones.  I had meant to tell them to brush it all away and leave only the bones in the pattern that they had been left in.

Yeah.  Didn't really have the chance.  They were pretty excited about becoming paleontologists.  They jumped right in!

It was a ridiculously time intensive project, and they had "discovered" all the bones within ten minutes.  No careful excavation.  No painstaking brushing of the bones.  As I finished everything just hours before I left to deliver it/babysit, I was cringing through most of the process.  But their reaction was still everything I had hoped it would be.  Excitement, logic, discovery!

I have another set of the field tools, four more of the skulls and more of the Model Magic just waiting for the moment when I'm brave/stupid enough to attempt this again.  I've got at least ten more cousins who would be interested in having just such a gift.  Maybe for Christmas.

Maybe not!