How to Uncover Fossils and Kids' Activities
Many kids become interested in dinosaurs, but never take that interest past popular movies or books. Deepen your child's interest in dinosaurs and fossils by taking them from theory to field work. Give kids an activity that demonstrates to them how fossils are unearthed and categorized. Fossil digs are in remote locations, not always conducive to children. Create your own fossil dig in a backyard or schoolyard area.
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Things You'll Need
- Plastic sheeting
- Shovel
- Four 2 x 6 boards, 8 feet in length
- Sand
- Rakes
- Polymer clay
- Seashells
- Toy dinosaurs
- Small shovels
- Paintbrushes
- Dinosaur bone catalog
- Tent
Instructions
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Lay the plastic sheeting on the ground. It needs to cover an 8-foot by 8-foot area.
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Use a shovel to create a 2-inch wide trench around the perimeter of the sheeting. The trenches should only be 2 inches deep.
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3
Place the boards in the trenches you created. The boards should be square, the ends butting up against one another Your square will now have walls that are 6 inches high.
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4
Load the square with clean play sand. Spread the sand out with rakes.
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Create fossils with polymer clay. Shape clay into irregular round pieces. Press seashells and dinosaur toy footprints into the clay. Allow the clay to dry at 300 degrees Fahrenheit for two to three hours.
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6
Bury the fossils in the sand pit at varying depths.
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Hand out small shovels and brushes to children. Show the children how to carefully dig down until they find a "fossil." Then demonstrate how they reveal the fossil with brushes.
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Using a dinosaur bone catalog, help kids compare their finds with the fossils in the catalog. Help them record their bone information such as length, width and site of discovery.
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Tips & Warnings
Erect a tent or canopy over your fossil dig to protect children from the sun.
Make a smaller dig by using a child's plastic wading pool.
References
Resources
- Photo Credit fossil image by Hubert from Fotolia.com
