Your kids might not realise that a prehistoric discovery could be waiting beside the flowerpots in the garden. With homemade salt dough fossils, a few dinosaur toys and some hiding places, you can turn your back yard into an excavation site for curious children. These treasures are pretend, of course, but the excitement of uncovering them can feel wonderfully real.

Make the salt dough

Start by making your fossils a few days before the hunt. Mix 250 g of plain flour with 125 g of salt, then gradually add up to 125 ml of water until you have a workable dough. Knead until smooth, adding flour if it feels too sticky. Divide the dough into balls and flatten them into discs roughly one centimetre thick. Press the side of a toy dinosaur into each disc, pushing its head, body and tail down to create a clear impression. Lift it away carefully. Dinosaur footprints make good alternatives, especially for smaller fossils.

Set your creations somewhere dry and airy, turning them occasionally until hard. This may take several days, depending on their thickness and the conditions. Keep the dough away from pets – and remind children that it’s for crafting, not eating!

Prepare the hunt

Next, prepare your dig. Hide the hardened fossils in the flower beds, in the sand pit or beneath loose leaves. Keep everything away from delicate plants, and count your treasures so you can collect them afterwards.

Give each explorer a little trowel, a soft paintbrush, a small container and a notebook. Explain that their job is to uncover each find gently, brushing away sand or soil rather than digging hard or scraping at the surface. A garden map will help guide younger hunters, while older children might enjoy clues that lead between hiding places.

Encourage learning

Once the discoveries start arriving, open a museum on the garden table. Can your explorers match each impression to the toy that made it? Encourage them to notice long tails, horns and different footprints. Perhaps they could sketch their finds, invent exhibit labels or describe where each fossil was discovered.

This is also a moment to explain that real fossils are preserved remains or traces of ancient life. Your dough versions are models that help children explore the idea of an impression. Let questions lead the conversation, and look up any dinosaur mysteries you’re unable to solve together.

Discover Dinosaur World Live

To extend the adventure, why not book tickets to Dinosaur World Live, a dinosaur children’s show that brings prehistoric creatures to the stage through lifelike puppetry. Its cast includes a Tyrannosaurus rex, Triceratops, Giraffatitan and more: plenty of inspiration for another round of garden discoveries. Children could even create new fossil designs based on their favourite creature.

Make a theatre trip to Dinosaur World in England or Ireland your next expedition. The show is touring throughout October, so check dates, venues and Dinosaur World prices – and book your seats today to join the roarsome adventure.