Dinosaur Dreams: Story and Craft with ArtBeast

Thu, Jun 28 3:30-5:00

This program was held at the Rio Linda Depot Park building, 6730 Front Street and was sponsored by our local library as part of their summer program for children.
This week ArtBeast presented a Dino story and Dino crafts.

We listened to the adventures of Wilbur, who travels alongside a dinosaur that had knocked at his window one night.

The children seemed to enjoy the story, raptly paying attention and asking questions throughout.

Mr. A

Mr. C



After the story,  the children made Dino eggs using a special mud and little dinos.

Mr. C and Mr. A both made one of these.

Here is the recipe the lady from ArtBeast gave me.

Dino Egg Dough5 cups dirt
5 cups flour
3 cups salt
2 cups sand
water to "moldable" consistancy
She was making a batch for a group of children, but this could easily be reduced for 1 child.

I found the recipe below online at Play, Create, Explore.
It is made with coffee grounds used instead of the dirt.

Make Your Own "Dinosaur Egg" or "Treasure Rock"

 with Coffee Dough 

You can call these "dinosaur eggs" or "treasure rocks" but one thing is for sure...
your kids will LOVE them!

These dinosaur eggs make great favors for the kids.

Materials

    •1 cup used coffee grinds
    •1 cup flour

    •1/2 cup salt
    •1/4 cup sand
    •3/4 cup water
    •mixing bowl
    •small plastic toy dinosaurs or other treasures

What to Do 
1. Mix all the dry ingredients together in a mixing bowl.

2. Slowly add the water and knead with your hands until the mixture is like bread dough.

(You may need to add more flour and sand to make it a dough-y consistency. She added MUCH more flour and sand and it still baked out fine)

3. When the Coffee Dough is at a very moldable state, shape your "dino eggs" or "treasure rocks" however you'd like. If you are putting trinkets in them, you’ll take your trinket and basically shape your rock around it, adding more dough to cover exposed parts of the toy.

4. You can air dry these for several days OR bake them on a cookie sheet at 150 degrees for about 15-20 or until you poke them and they arent soft anymore.

(Her dino eggs were fairly large, so she baked them for about 45 minutes)
For parties she says she quadruples this recipe.

You could call or visit your local Starbucks to ask them to save some coffee grinds.
I have done this for my garden and they have always been more than happy to comply.

Mr. C is tightly holding onto his egg. I think he may have chosen not to make the dino because he did not want to put it down.

They were also able to make to dream up their own dinosaurs to take home, using a buffet of art supplies.

(Only Mr. A wanted to make one of these.)

Fierce Looking, isn't it?

Mr. A creating a Spikeosaurus

                                                 Other children made lots of dinosaurs too!

Thank you VERY MUCH ArtBeast !!

We look forward to your next visit:
Dream Catching: Story and Craft with ArtBeast
Thu, Jul 12  3:30-5:00
Program will be held at the Rio Linda Depot Park building, 6730 Front Street. Children will hear the powerful story Grandmother’s Dream catcher, about a Chippewa child who learns from her grandmother how to capture good dreams and keep the bad ones away. After the story, children will use beads, yarn, feathers, twine, and spangles to create their own dream catchers to take home.

Thu, Jul 5  3:30-4:30, we get to:

Learn about Insects with the Bohart Museum of Entomology
Program will be held at the Rio Linda Depot Park building, 6730 Front Street. See and learn about all kinds of beautiful, interesting, and useful bugs. There will be lots of bugs to look at, and you might even get to pet a live walking stick or cockroach!

Come join us!!