How to Make Dinosaur Footprints

Get inspired at a dinosaur exhibit.

Follow a morning at a natural history museum by making your own "dinosaur footprints." This craft is easy enough for preschoolers, but it's fun for older kids, too. Talk about dinosaur fossils and footprints using a book or the Internet to help design the print based on real footprints. If your child has a favorite dinosaur, see if she can find its footprint, then have her draw it on paper before making the footprint stamp.

Things You'll Need

• 3 cups of salt
• 1 1/2 cups of flour
• 1 cup water
• Cardboard
• Scissors
• Paint (optional)

Instructions

1. Draw an outline of a dinosaur footprint on a piece of cardboard and cut it out.

2. Make salt dough by combining 3 cups of flour, 1 1/2 cups of salt and 1 cup of water. Knead it into a dough, adding more water if necessary.

3. Press balls of dough onto a sheet of wax paper in sizes slightly larger than the footprint cutout and about 1 inch thick -- they don't have to be even.

4. Press the cutout into the dough. Carefully remove the cutout, leaving a footprint shape. Repeat, or have each child make and press his own footprint cutout.

5. Allow the footprints to dry for several days, or dry in an oven heated to 200 degrees Fahrenheit for about 30 minutes.

6. Paint the footprints when dry, if desired.

Tips & Warnings

• You can use soft modeling clay instead of salt dough, if you prefer.

References

• Crayola: Dinosaur Tracks
• All Kids Network: Salt Dough Fossils
• Easy Childs Crafts: Salt Dough Recipes

Resources

• Read this Article in Spanish