6 Dinosaur Crafts That Kids Will Love

Ingredients (per egg):

• ½ cup baking soda
• 2 tbsp food grade powdered citric acid. This can be found in grocery stores near the canning supplies or see here.
• 1 to 2 tsp oil
• Small plastic toy dinos
• Liquid food coloring
• Large bowl to “hatch” eggs in
• Small bowl to mix eggs in

Instructions:

Make the dough:

1. Put baking soda in a bowl and add food color if using. Mix and knead the color in with your fingers until the color is distributed. This will color your fingers, but it washes off.
2. Add citric acid and mix in with spoon. 
3. Add 1 tsp oil and work it into the dough with your fingers. 

At this point the dough will be dry and crumbly, similar in texture to the product “Moon Sand.” You will know when it is ready when you can squeeze the dough in your hand and it holds together. Add more oil, one teaspoon at a time until it holds together and can be molded into a ball.

Put the dinos in the eggs:

Scoop half of the dough in the palm of one hand and then press a dino into it. Cover dino with the rest of the dough and squeeze the dough in both hands until it sticks together. Notice that the dough is cold to the touch. The baking soda and citric acid react in an endothermic reaction, absorbing heat from the surrounding environment.

Now you can hatch your egg immediately! 

To hatch:

Fill a large bowl with water. Drop in egg and watch the fizzing begin! All of the dough will dissolve, leaving the dino.