List and identify all the tools necessary to complete an archeological dig. Children can learn about each tool and how to use it, including a trowel, hand pick, a variety of brushes and a dustpan. While some digs require bulldozers and excavators, children can concentrate on the tools that help the archeologists with precision digging and are gentle enough so they won't damage bones.
Place bones made from papier mache, foam or that are store-bought in a sandbox. Children must be careful not to crush or damage the bones as they move about in the sand and use the archeology tools to carefully uncover each bone. Instructors teach them how to document and identify each bone; children can set the bones on a large blanket or tarp and write down where they found it as well as what type of dinosaur they think it is. Later, they can match the bones with pictures of dinosaurs the teacher supplies for them.
Use store-bought plastic dinosaur bones the children can reassemble once they have unearthed them. Children work together to determine which bone goes where, then they identify the name of the dinosaur they have assembled. They can list the facts they know about the dinosaur, such as what it ate and how big it was.
Ask children to present their findings to the class. They can report on which tools worked, which didn't and why, where they found the bones, how easy or difficult they were to reassemble and what type of dinosaur they found. They can also help recreate the dig for another group of children by helping make and hide the bones as well as organize the tools for others to use.