Let Me Out! Dino Eggs

What's hatching out of that egg? Research creatures that lay eggs.

• 1.

  Cover your work space with recycled newspaper. Tear recycled newspaper into narrow strips for paper maché.

• 2.

  Crumple a piece of recycled newspaper into a large egg-shaped ball.

• 3.

  Mix equal amounts of Crayola® School Glue and water in a bowl. Dip newspaper strips in glue-water mix. Run your fingers down each strip to remove the excess. Cover the crumpled newspaper with the wet strips, overlapping and smoothing as you go. Make at least three layers. Hang the paper maché-covered egg up to dry. This may take a day or longer.

• 4.

  With Crayola Washable Watercolor Paint and Paint Brushes, paint your dried paper egg. How could you camouflage the egg to keep it safe in the nest? Hang the painted egg up to dry.

• 5.

  Sculpt a dinosaur baby in proportion to the egg size Model Magic. Dry.

• 6.

  Create an opening in the egg that looks like your dinosaur just cracked its way out with Crayola Scissors. Remove the crumpled newspaper from inside. Place your dino baby in the egg so it looks like it is hatching.

Benefits

• Students research the names and types of animals that lay eggs, such as birds and reptiles.
• Children identify the characteristics of reptiles, and discover that dinosaurs were reptiles.
• Students create a 3-dimensional display of a paper maché dinosaur egg and just-hatched baby dinosaur.

Adaptations

• Create a nest and its environment in which to display the eggs. How many eggs did dinosaurs typically lay? Where were nests located? How big were they?
• Discuss theories about the extinction of dinosaurs, which probably occurred about 65 million years ago. Why do you think it happened? One current theory is that a meteorite collided with Earth. This created a cloud of dust that encircled the planet, block
• Gather information about how the class can hatch chickens. Find homes for all of them before you proceed. Obtain fertilized eggs and an incubator, plus any other items needed. Record temperatures, sketch chicks as they hatch, and track their growth before they leave for their new homes.
• Younger children and those with special needs might work best with partners while covering balloons with newspaper and paint. One holds the balloon for the other, then switch roles.