At Sonas we hold a fortnightly Baby Play Lab session for the community and children in the centre.
This week children were excited to explore a series of dinosaur-themed activities set up across the room. They engaged in tactile experiences involving dinosaur eggs, dinosaur world tuff trays and volcano experiments, and dinosaur skeletons in tuff trays with hidden dinosaur figures and bones. Children eagerly used their hands and tools to explore different textures.
At the exploration table, they discovered fossils and bones buried in kinetic sand. Some children began guessing the age of the dinosaurs, connecting their thinking with what we read during story time, which was Age of Dinosaurs.
To finish the experience, children had fun posing for photos with two giant dinosaurs in the studio. They laughed, hugged the dinosaurs, and shared imaginative stories about pet dinosaurs, and some pretended to feed the dinosaurs.
These experiences offered a rich learning environment where children developed skills across multiple domains. The hands-on sensory play supported fine motor development, while the fossil discovery and book reading sparked scientific thinking and early literacy. Socially, children practiced turn-taking, listening, and sharing ideas with peers. Emotionally, the activities promoted joy, wonder, and a strong sense of belonging.