British Columbia·Video

This family built a massive dinosaur out of take-out containers during their hotel quarantine

The idea of quarantining in a hotel for 14 days with a toddler can be overwhelming, but the Catalano family made the best of it.

Dinosaur has been named 'bagasaurus' in honour of paper bags used to make scales

Florence, an energetic 3-year-old, rides her custom-built 'bagasaurus.' (Submitted by Carly Catalano)

The Catalano family has been making the most of their hotel quarantine — by building what they call a "bagasaurus."

Carly Catalano, originally from Williams Lake, B.C., her partner Sam and their three-year-old daughter Florence are in the midst of moving to Perth, Australia. Part of the move to a new country requires them to quarantine in a hotel for 14 days, to ensure they don't bring COVID-19 into the country. 

Florence's parents knew that 14 days with a toddler were going to be trying, so they came up with a plan. They wanted to build something. When they asked young Florence what she wanted them to make, she suggested a dinosaur. 

Using take-out containers  of which they had many from days' worth of take-out  and an ironing board, the couple designed and built the skeleton for a 1.5-metre tall dinosaur.

Watch | Time lapse video shows bagasaurus in the making:

Family builds 'bagasaurus' from takeout containers during 14-day hotel quarantine

4 years ago
Duration 0:50
The Catalano family got creative with their time in quarantine by reusing takeout containers provided by their hotel to build a massive dinosaur for their three-year-old daughter Florence.

They covered it in paper bags cut to look like scales. Cotton balls were used to make teeth and cut up plastic spoons made for the perfect eyes.

Florence Catalano, 3, feeds her trusty bagasaurus wheat grass to keep it strong and healthy. (Submitted by Carly Catalano)

They call the dinosaur the "bagasaurus" in honour of the dozens of paper bags used to create its scales. 

Florence loves it. 

"We've been growing wheat grass in here," Caatalano told Radio West host Sarah Penton. 

"So she's been wanting to, like, feed the dinosaur wheat grass as well as eat most of it herself."

Catalano also made her daughter an outfit out of paper bags to match. 

The 'bagasaurus,' a term coined by its creators, stands about 1.5-metres tall. (Submitted by Carly Catalano)

The whole project took Catalano and her partner about 20 hours to create. When they leave the hotel after their quarantine period has ended, they plan to take the head with them, to keep as a souvenir, and recycle the rest of the body.

With files from Sarah Penton