Archaeology Dig
Rock Party

This party could be more than just an Egyptian dig...try other cultures also.

Invitations: Mummy shaped outside: Come exploring with archaeologist 'child's name' Inside: Day: Time: Our Dig Site: 'location' RSVP:

Party Supplies from Birthday in a Box

Build a paper 3-D pyramid out of stiff paper and put an ancient scroll inside with invite information:
Archeologist, Dr. (child's name) invites you to join him/her on his/her expedition of Egyptian civilization. All learned scientists are asked to rendezvous at (location and time and date). Might include a visit to a museum. 

Decorations:
Neutral colors:  sand colored, black, brown, deep greens.  Picks, shovels, sand bags (burlap bags) filled with crushed newspaper or straw.  Sand box or area set aside for the dig.  Stake off with rope.

Cake:
Mummy Shaped

Goodie Bags:
Small pails, fill with geode, arrow head, magnifying glass, cool rocks and fossils.

Games and Activities:

Mummy Wrap:  One roll of toilet paper per child.  Form teams and let them wrap each other up.

Archaeological Dig:
Need:  Hand trowels, sand screen.
Using your sand pit, bury fossils, pieces of pottery, Indian arrow heads, other items from different cultures/ eras (put modern things in too). Let the kids carefully dig them up, and sort them into the culture they belong.  (instead of using "real" items, you could make mini-replicas from Fimo or Sculpy clays)

Rock Search:  Have a bag of rocks for each child hidden and give them a map to follow to the site of the hidden rocks.  Make 'boxes' for the rocks with indexes for each separate rock.

Fossil Find:  Bake fossils or tiny items into play dough.  Hide them around or in the sand and let the kids find them.  They will then need to crack them open.

Use the above baked playdough idea but tie the balls of baked playdough (with prizes inside) to yarn and wrap the yarn around furniture and other balls with yarn and call it a "labyrinth".  Navigating mazes is another skill an archeologist needs to know! 

Make a tomb in a darkened area of the house and give the kids flashlights so they can explore inside. 

Turn birthday child or willing participant into a mummy using toilet paper.

Make a mummy:  See this cool project at
http://www.rom.on.ca/egypt/mummy/mum1.html

Draw Hieroglyphics and write their name:  This could be done on their pails with a permanent marker.  See this page for the translation
http://www.guardians.net/egypt/hiero.htm

Here is a great site for explaining what archaeology is and how a dig is performed.
http://www.rom.on.ca/digs/munsell/

Check out this site for rocks and supplies:
GEOPRIME-ROCKS, MINERALS, & GEOINSTRUCTIONAL EARTH SCIENCE TEACHING SUPPLIES