The basic dig. A basic fossil dig involves planting some fossils in loose soil/sand and using sifting pans to find the fossils. Children get to experience fossil hunting, identification and classification in a way that is appropriate for their capabilities and attention spans. Good for younger children 4-9 years old.
Excavation. A more advanced fossil dig. This involves embedding fossils in a rock matrix so children can experience the hard work and satisfaction that comes with extracting real fossils from [fake] rock using tools like picks, chissles, hammers, and brushes. They will experience using both brute force needed to get at the fossil and the fine detail work required to extract the fossil unharmed.Good for children 7 and older.
How to create a fossil matrix - Lean how to create your own fossil matrix for your children to work on excavating fossils. Hard enough that it feels like real rock, but not so hard that they need to spend a month getting at the fossils embedded in the matrix.
Viewing fossils under a microscope. This is a fun activity involving looking at fossils using an inexpensive field microscope. Magnified 100 times, the kids will be exposed to a whole new world of detail. And if you can get your hands on a piece of amber with a bug trapped inside! How cool is it to be able to see a 10 million year old insect!
How to make a cast replica of a fossil. Here we explore the practice of making case replicas of real fossils. The kids learn to make rubber molds of a fossil and then use the mold to create a resin cast of the fossil. Fun activities for pudding paleontologists of all ages!
Learn how to make a filler for partial fossils. Complete skeletons, even complete bones are not always easy to come by. To display a skeleton or a bone, sculpting filler to take the place of missing bone is often necessary. Using hardening clay, we "complete the bone" but filling in for the missing pieces of a fossil fragment.
Paleoart. What kid doesn't love to draw dinosaurs! (Well - that's probably an over-generalization - but if your kids like dinosaurs enough to be reading this, chances are that they like to draw, or at least color, pictures of our prehistoric friends. But did they know that some people draw, paint, and sculpt dinosaurs for a career!
Fossil stepping stone. Commemorate the glory that is Dinosaur Day by creating a fossil stepping stone for your garden. Consider it a fossil dig in reverse...put the fossils back in the rocks! Using a basic stepping stone kit from a garden store, decorate it with common fossils and enjoy all summer long!