Toybox Thursday: Educational Insights GeoSafari Dino Dig Kit Review & Giveaway



Welcome back to another exciting Toybox Thursday!

This week it's been all about dinosaurs here at the Lil Diva house and we had the fabulous fortune to review the perfect dino activity from Educational Insights -

The GeoSafari Dino Dig Velociraptors Set.

This awesome paleontolgy inspired kit provides children with a realistic archaeological dinosaur digging experience on a manageable at home/school scale.

The Lil Divas (and I) were excited to dig in and uncover our dinosaur bones.

Here's what came in the box:

1 "fossilized" clay brick w/bones

1 excavation tool

1 dust brush

1 small bar of wax adhesive

1 32 pg. guide (includes directions & dino facts)

1 gold sticker

1 black showcase platform



The purpose of this kit is to give an archaeological experience so you have to use the tools to excavate the bones. Once all the pieces have been uncovered you assemble the 2 velociraptor skeltons using the bones and the wax adhesive.



Our Experience:

This kit is recommended for ages 7-12 (or 2nd grade & up) so I knew the Lil Divas would require my assistance during this activity. I welcomed the opportunity to help them as this was my first time doing this type of activity as well and I was excited to get my hands on it myself! :)

We added a few drops of water to the top of the clay so that it was easy to start to dig for lil hands. I also kept a cup of water nearby so we could dip the excavation tool ever now and then and help the clay get moist if it got too hard for the Lil Divas to manage.

They did great and pretty soon we had uncovered our first bone. They were so excited! I showed them how to brush off the excess clay and to dig around the bone, being careful not to break the bone we were trying to excavate.

Check out these determined, hard at work faces! The project did take team work because it took us quite a while to get all the bones free. This would be a great small group project at home or in the classroom.

With a few people taking turns - no one got too tired of digging and everything stayed exciting and anticipatory as we watched new bones being uncovered.

The Lil Divas loved getting a hands-on look at each of the dinosaur bones as they came out of the clay. One bit of advice/caution - make sure you have a good work space. With little hands involved - things got quite messy with clay debris flying all around even though we were working on a tray. It was easy enough to clean up but in their zeal to dig & brush the clay away from the bones - things got messy! Of course where kids are concerned Messy = FUN!

Once all 14 pieces had been found, we washed them and laid them out to begin assembling the skeletons.

The assembly was the trickiest part of doing this with little ones. It works like a puzzle. You try the pieces out until you find what fits/works. I did quite a bit of helping with this part of the activity because in order for the pieces to stay together you must use the wax adhezive and they had trouble with that. They either took out a large piece or too little wax so I was mostly in charge of adding the wax and they would connect the pieces together.

We were all so excited when our 2 velociraptor skeletons were complete! It felt like such an accomplishment after our time and effort!

These kits are a fabulous addition to any Dinosaur unit study - I really think it would be great for a small group project. This would also definitely be a hit for any dinosaur enthusiast. 

I really enjoyed working with the Lil Divas on this project so I am excited that we get share the fun with our readers because Educational Insights if offering 1 GeoSafari Dino Dig kit to one lucky Mom to 2 Posh Lil Divas follower!

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Buy It: 

Purchase a GeoSafari Dino Dig Activity Kit

at Educational Insight's website. (Retail Price = $19.99)

Win It: 

Educational Insights has graciously agreed to giveaway

One (1) GeoSafari Dino Dig Kit

to One (1) lucky Mom to 2 Posh Lil Divas Reader!

How to Enter:

**Contest ends on 9/1/11**

 One (1) lucky Mom to 2 Posh Lil Divas reader

(US Residents Only!) is going to receive:

a GeoSafari Dino Dig kit

Mandatory Entry:

Visit Educational Insights website &

tell me which  GeoSafari Dino Dig kit you would like to win. 

Please include your email with your comment so that I can find you if you're our winner!

**Mandatory Entry must be completed for extra entries to count**

Extra Entries (Optional)

Please leave a seperate comment

for each entry &

please include your e-mail

so I can get back to you if you win! 

*If you are already a follower leave a comment that counts as an entry*

1. Follow Mom to 2 Posh Lil Divas Publicly via Google Friend Connect  (+2) leave 2 comments
2. Follow Mom to 2 Posh Lil Divas on Facebook (+2) leave 2 comment
3. "Like" Educational Insights on Facebook - I'd love for you tell them I sent you!
4. Follow Mom to 2 Posh Lil Divas on Twitter  (+2) leave 2 comments
5. Subscribe to Mom to 2 Posh Lil Divas emails  (+2) leave 2 comments
6. Subscribe to Mom to 2 Posh Lil Divas Newsletter  (+2) leave 2 comment
7. Vote for me on Parents (Best Craft for Kids Blog)
8. Make a comment on any non-giveaway post on Mom to 2 Posh Lil Divas Blog and leave a link.  You can do this for up to 5 posts but please note that comment must be dated after the start date of this post - not valid on previous comments. (+2) leave 2 comments
9. Tweet about this giveaway and leave a link - can be done once a day
   Tweet: #Win @ed_insights GeoSafari Dino Dig Kit
10.  w/@Momto2PoshDivas ends 9/1 http://t.co/tGpCsPA #giveaways #homeschool #science #teachers

Giveaway Rules:

Giveaway ends 9/1/2011 at 11:59 (PDT)

Winner will be chosen via random.org. 

& contacted via email if an email is given .

Winner will have 48 hours to claim their prize.

Please note any entries that can not be verified will be disqualified.

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Disclaimer: I received The GeoSafari Dino Dig Velociraptor Kit for free for the purposes of trying it out for this review. That being said, this review is my 100% honest opinion of this product - I  am not paid for my reviews or optinions! They are 100% mine! Please remember that your opinions and tastes might differ from mine. 

Good Luck,

Bern