Easy Spooky Halloween Excavation Activity for Kids

It’s Halloween! Make this easy and spooky Halloween excavation activity for kids with only 2 ingredients! You can make this from scratch or do it as a bonus activity after making the Spooky Halloween Oobleck Activity for Kids. Two easy activities in one? Yes, fun guaranteed!

Oobleck Activity

If you want to go the 2-Activities-in-1 Route, then you gotta do this Halloween Oobleck activity first.

Oobleck is an amazing slimy non-Newtonian element that is neither solid nor liquid. So what is it? It’s both liquid and solid. It’s magical! 

When you tap your hand on the surface very fast, it feels solid. But when you put your hand on it very slowly, it becomes liquid mud. 

We made a Halloween version of it using orange food color. Then my son, Joshua, put some plastic spooky toys like skeletons, eyeballs, spiders and jack o’lanterns baskets to bury in the Oobleck.

When he was done playing with it, we left the Halloween toy creatures buried in the slimy Oobleck mud.

When it dried up, it is now the bonus Halloween Excavation Kids Activity!

You can read all about this amazing activity in Spooky Halloween Oobleck Activity for Kids.

DIY Halloween Excavation Recipe

So if you don’t want to do the Oobleck activity step, just proceed to this Halloween digging activity.

To make this spooky kids’ activity, you will need:

• 4 cups cornstarch
• 2 cups water
• Orange food coloring (Optional to make it Halloween color)

Toys to Excavate:

Of course, you need something to excavate! Use any Halloween toys you have in the house such as:

• Plastic skeletons
• Pingpong ball eyeballs
• Plastic spiders
• Jack o’lantern mini baskets

Making the Halloween Digsite

Step 1:

Mix all the ingredients together in a bowl. Use your hands to make it easier and more fun to mix.

When it is mud-like or slime-like in consistency, you have Oobleck.

Step 2:

Put in all your spooky Halloween toys. Bury them deep inside the Oobleck.

Step 3:

Let it dry. You can put it under the sun or just inside a well-ventilated room indoors.

Now you have the Halloween Excavation set up!

Halloween Excavation Fun

You need more tools to enjoy this excavation activity.

Excavation tools: 

Any kitchen tools you have on hand that can poke and dig is good.

• Chopsticks
• Meat tenderizer
• Kitchen brush
• Measuring cups and spoons
• Cooking shovel

Other Materials:

Here are some other materials you may need to do this Halloween digging activity:

• Plastic tablecloth or shower curtain on the table for easy clean up
• Face mask for protection from dust (optional)

Before Digging:

• Decide if you will do this kids’ activity on a table or on the floor. Put a tablecloth or shower curtain on the area to catch the excavated dust particles.
• As added protection, have the kids wear a face mask to ward off dust during the dig (My son is allergic to dust, so of course he had a face mask on!).

Excavating:

Poking Tool

The chopsticks can be the pick to poke through the surface.

Hammering Tool

The meat tenderizer or pestle can be the hammer to pound on the chopsticks.

Brushing Tool

The kitchen brush can be the Archeologist’s brush to move the dust particles from the Halloween toys.

Shoveling Tool

The kitchen shovel, measuring cups and spoons can be the shovel to pick up and transfer the dirt.

Digging Fun!

Let the kids excavate the buried Halloween toys using these kitchen tools. Watch them be amazed and have tons of fun as they dig for their toys like real Archeologists!

After Digging: Bonus Activity!

When all the spooky toys have been excavated from the “dig site,” my son focused on the broken “dirt.” He put them on the table and smashed them with the meat tenderizing mallet.

He loved how they turned into “orange dust!” (Just remember to put something on your table like a piece of cardboard to protect the surface. Ours was a glass table so no hard smashing!)

For this part of the bonus post-digging activity, better have your kids put on their face masks for protection from the dust particles!

Clean up playing with a wet rag or baby wipes on the table cloth or shower curtain. Toss any remaining dirt and dust particles away.

Halloween Excavation Verdict: 5 Stars!

This is a really easy and awesome DIY kids’ activity that you can do this Halloween. Creating it as a spinoff from the Halloween Oobleck kids activity makes it an economical and fun activity.

Kids will be engrossed digging through the dirt for their skeletons, spiders, eyeballs and jack o’lanterns for a long time. Learning to use simple kitchen tools and utensils add to the overall fun of this DIY Halloween kids activity.

This activity is an absolute winner!

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