DIY TIGER'S EYE ADVENTURE

In this quick and inexpensive tutorial, we are going to show you how to make a DIY Tiger's Eye Adventure. These excavations are super easy to make and are a great teaching resource to include in your next lesson or discussion about rocks, minerals, gemstones, and more.

Be sure to check out our free Digital Dig virtual gem mining. Answer trivia and earn points you can redeem for free tiger's eye, rocks, minerals, fossils, seashells, dig kits and more!

Materials:

Sand

Plaster of Paris

Water

Mixing Bowl

Wooden spoon

Measuring cups

Popsicle sticks – Popsicle sticks are inexpensive, readily available, and make great excavation tools.

Safety goggles or glasses – You we need to provide or borrow a set for each student.

Optional – Brushes and magnifying glasses.

Tumbled tiger's eye - You can buy a bag of beautifully tumbled tiger's eye online. These gemstones are gorgeous, reasonably, cheap, and are a fantastic gemstone to use in DIY dig kits.  

Any small container that will fit your specimens and allow room for the plaster mixture will work. I love rummaging through recycle bins for fun and unique containers I can use for excavations. For this tutorial I will use a paper pint sized milk carton. 

Check out hundreds of exciting and unique dig kits! Excavating Adventures has a kit for everyone. Explore dig kits filled with rocks, minerals, fossils, gemstones, seashells, and even real tiger's eye!

Directions:

1. Rinse out the milk carton and carefully peel open the top.
2. Place the tiger's eye in the milk carton.
3. Mix 1 cups sand with 1/3 cup Plaster of Paris.
4. Add 1/3 cup of water and mix until you have a pancake batter consistency.
5. Pour the mixture over the tiger's eye.
6. Place the DIY Tiger's Eye Adventure in front of a fan overnight until it is completely dry. You will want to make sure to leave the top of the milk carton open so the excavation will dry.
7. Cut and peel the milk carton away from the excavation. Place the excavation back in front of the fan if it is still wet. 
8. Distribute the excavation, excavation tools, and safety goggles to your Excavating Adventurer and have fun watching them dig in and discover the awesome tiger's eye you have hidden inside.

Take some time to explore the Excavating Adventures website. We have monthly excavations that get delivered right to your door, Build Your Own excavations, a blog filled with amazing excavation ideas, trivia, tons of free stuff and tiger's eye dig kits, and much, much, more!