- Read the book "From Dinosaurs to Fossils" by Annegert Fuchshuber, or a similar book about dinosaurs and fossils. Ask students to discuss how big the dinosaurs in the book were, as well as how the scientists figured that out. Make sure that the children understand how long ago dinosaurs lived and what the fossils actually are (imprints of dinosaur marks or bones).
- Fill several foam cups halfway with sand. Take several toy dinosaurs and use their feet to make prints in the sand. Then pour plaster of Paris over each print. After the plaster dries, peel off the cup and dispose of the sand. A "fossil" will remain. Bury the fossils in a sandbox or sensory table. Talk to students about how scientists dig up fossils from the ground, and how they brush off the sand and try to identify them. Then provide students with toothbrushes and small paintbrushes and let them search for the fossils. When they find them, encourage them to match the fossil with the toy dinosaur that made it.
- On a class nature walk, encourage students to collect rocks, leaves, grass and other natural items that might have been around during the time of the dinosaurs. Have each student bring in a shoebox, and show them how to decorate the shoebox with their findings. Let them draw pictures of their favorite dinosaurs and paste them onto the shoebox. Then put a foam cup in the middle of each "landscape," and show students how to fill the cup with a mixture of vinegar and baking soda to form a "volcano." Discuss with students why some scientists believe that volcanoes or other natural disasters caused dinosaurs to become extinct.
