Easy DIY Dinosaur Sensory Bin Activity For Kids

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Our Easy DIY Dinosaur Sensory Bin will transport your child’s imagination back to the prehistoric land of the dinosaurs! Sensory bins are an excellent way to stimulate various senses, promote sensory exploration, and encourage imaginative play.

My kids LOVE sensory bins, and I love creating them! In the past, we’ve tried sensory bins with colored rice as the main sensory experience. And we’ve also made other sensory bin ideas, including an ocean-themed sensory bin with water beads (so fun!) and a sea life sensory bottle.

We’ve even made rainbow sensory noodles for a different kind of sensory play.

This time, I wanted to make a sensory bin with another kind of material for even more sensory variety. I used sand – and since I have boys, our sensory bin HAD to be a dinosaur sensory bin!

Believe it or not, sensory bins are SUPER easy to put together. Kids love playing with them, and I love that one sensory bin with sand and toy dinosaurs produces hours of imaginative play. WIN!

Whether you’re a parent or educator, this simple yet exciting activity is perfect for engaging little paleontologists in hands-on learning while they embark on a prehistoric adventure.

This hands-on project is perfect for young dinosaur enthusiasts, providing them with an exciting way to learn about the prehistoric world.

If you want more engaging sensory ideas and recipes, try my Easy Cloud Dough!

Benefits of Sensory Play

Sensory play offers so many benefits for children’s development and overall well-being. Here are five key advantages to having young kids engage in sensory play:

Cognitive Development: Sensory play encourages kids to explore, investigate, and think critically. It also promotes problem-solving skills as they figure out how materials behave, interact, and change.
Sensory Integration: Sensory play helps children integrate information from their senses, such as touch, smell, taste, sight, and hearing. This is essential for understanding and responding to the world around them.
Fine and Gross Motor Skills: Many sensory activities involve manipulating objects, pouring, scooping, and using various tools and materials. These actions enhance both fine motor skills (precise hand and finger movements) and gross motor skills (large muscle movements).
Emotional Regulation: Sensory play can have a calming and soothing effect on children, helping them manage stress, anxiety, and emotional regulation.
Social and Language Skills: Sensory play often involves interaction with others and encourages communication and collaboration, helping children develop social skills, empathy, and the ability to express their thoughts and feelings.

Supplies Needed

Here are the fun sensory materials you’ll need to make an incredible dinosaur adventure for your budding paleontologist!

Sensory Bin – I recommend using shallow plastic bins or a plastic container with lid
Kinetic Sand – any color of sensory sand you prefer (such as moon sand)
Dinosaur Toys – any dinosaur figurines or plastic dinosaurs work!
Faux Plants – or any sort of plastic trees or artificial plants
Small rocks or stones
Salt Dough Dinosaur Fossils – optional but fun!

How to Make A DIY Dinosaur Sensory Bin

It’s time to go on a dinosaur dig and find dinosaur eggs, dino skeletons, and dinosaur fossils! Here’s how to bring all the elements of the sensory play activity together into an amazing playful learning experience that encourages sensory development.

Step 1 – Add Sand To Tub

Begin by adding the kinetic sand into the sensory bin.

Step 2 – Add Objects

Now place the trees and stones in the bin in various places.

Step 3 – Add Dinosaurs

Place the dinosaurs in the sensory bin on top of the moldable sand.

Time for the kiddos to check out this great sensory activity and explore with hands-on play!!

Expert Notes And Tips

Place a large towel or bed sheet under the sensory bin, which will help with easy and quick cleanup for any contents that have been spilled outside the bin. If possible, take the sensory bin outside.

Depending on the age of your budding paleontologists, adult supervision at all times may be necessary. Younger children will have a tendency to want to put things in their mouths.

Remember…..less is more. If you put too much stuff in the sensory bin, it will become overwhelming to them.

Include a few sensory tools to help young children explore the sensory play idea. Some examples could include paint brushes, plastic cups, magnifying glass, a sand sifter, wooden scoop, or even a fossil brush!

Would you rather buy a kit that includes everything? This one gets great reviews and comes with everything you need!

Extended Learning Idea

A great way to help kids of all ages learn about dinosaurs as they enjoy their own Jurassic adventures is to read some amazing dinosaur books to them while they engage in the wonderful world of dinosaurs!

Here are some great book ideas to check out:

Dinos Love Donuts – cute, adorable, hilarious, and will make kids actually want to go to bed so they can read this!
How Do Dinosaurs Say I Love You? – my boys loved this book!
Oh Say Can You Say Di-no-saur? All About Dinosaurs – My boys begged for this book again and again!
If You Happen to Have a Dinosaur – delightfully absurd so you’ll want to read it all the time!
Dinosaur Encyclopedia for Kids: The Big Book of Prehistoric Creatures – perfect for slightly older kids who want to learn facts and more detailed info about dinosaurs.

Variations Of Dinosaur Sensory Bin To Try

Include some tools such as spoons, scoops, funnels, tweezers, or shovels.

Change the theme based on your child’s preference. Some of our favorite themes include beach, birds or animals, airplanes, or space.

Try using different sensory bin fillers – sand, water beads, colored rice, tiny pebbles (if your child won’t swallow them).

Some easy and inexpensive ideas for the contents of your sensory bin might include these various materials:
- sand
- cotton balls
- shredded paper
- craft feathers
- dry pasta, rice, or bea
- unpopped popcorn
- crinkle grass
- pipe cleaners
- foam volcano
- white plastic eggs

FAQs

Do you have questions about our DIY Dinosaur Sensory Bin? If you have a question and don’t see it already answered below, please leave it for me in the comments!

What is a sensory bin?

A sensory bin is generally a large plastic container or storage tub that is filled with materials and/or objects that help to stimulate your child’s senses.

Children learn best with their hands, eyes, ears, and noses. If they can smell, touch, see, and hear something it helps them to retain information more effectively.

A sensory bin is typically filled with a variety of common objects such as beads, dry pasta, small toys, and tools to stimulate their senses.

What type of container is best for a sensory bin?

I would suggest a shallow plastic tub. The size of the sensory bin is going to be subjective for each person, depending on the number of kids that will use it at the same time. I like using a tub or container with a lid – it makes cleanup so easy!

How often do I need to change out the contents of my dinosaur sensory bin?

There are a couple of factors I consider when thinking about changing the contents of our sensory bins.

First is the cleanliness and how much my kids have played with it. If you see mold or any kind of growth starting, dump the contents.

Second, if your kids play with this frequently, it might be a good idea to change it out once a week or every couple of weeks to keep them excited and interested.

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