These Tiny Toys Keep Kids Busy Excavating

Hatch Your Own Dragon

All three of my kids, ages 12, 10, and 8 years old, got some Dig It Up! Discoveries Dragon Eggs in their stocking stuffers. This excavating-type toy made the list this year as one of MindWare’s most wanted items in our household. So I was curious to see how much my kids enjoyed them in reality.

Dig It Up! Discoveries Dragon Eggs on Amazon

If your kid likes excavating, or dragons, and especially both, they will love these toys. You get a box of 12 eggs to hatch. Parents can hand out one egg at a time, or give kids the entire box. They also work well for party favors and any other time you need similar but not identical small gifs for a crowd. You can soak each egg in water to soften up the plaster material, though my oldest can’t wait that long and often skips this step.

Use the included wooden stylus to chip away at the plaster. These eggs can make a sizable mess, so we usually use a place mat or cookie sheet underneath to help contain all the debris. You can also hatch them outside, where the dust won’t hurt anything in the garden. The egg bits also clean up easily, wiping off surfaces and coming out of clothing in the wash with no extra treatment needed. In most cases, you can simply brush it off and not even need a wet cloth.

Inside, kids will find one of twelve types of dragons individually packaged with the wooden chisel tool. You get a variety of dragons from the various eggs. The box also comes with a helpful guide to identifying which dragon has hatched. My kids loved pouring over the information to see the different color dragons, and horse (dragon?) trading the hatchlings they received to get the ones they like best. 

This activity will easily keep your kids busy for half an hour or more per egg. It depends somewhat on how fast they can crack their egg and excavate the tiny dragon. Each one measures just over an inch tall, and they come in a variety of colors and poses. My kids went through more than six eggs in one afternoon and never showed any signs of slowing down. 

Got a kid who doesn’t get excited about dragons? You can get the same product in other themes, including sparkly dinosaurs and fairies, both in eggs. Or you can try digging puppies out of bone shapes, space objects from asteroids, or mermaids from shell shapes. Each one comes with 12 in a pack, just like the dragon version.

If you want a fun excavation project, or an interactive gift that isn’t LEGO and ends with a small creature that takes up very little room, you can’t go wrong with these shiny golden Dragon Eggs.