TThe big activity for our dinosaur day is always a fossil dig.  This simple fossil dig is relatively easy to prepare and is simple enough for even the youngest paleontologist in training to participate in. Pick a spot in you garden or yard that you don't mind digging up. I usually reserve someplace where I know I'm going to have to reseed/patch or a spot in the garden I'm going to want to till and replant.
What you'll need
  • Fossils.
    • A good amount is usually 10 to 15 per child.
    • One crown jewel (like a spinosaurus tooth or a mosasaur tooth)
    • The rest your common marine fossils (crinoid stems, trilobite, brachiobod, ammonite, etc).
    • See the fossil buying guide for good sources for fossils. 
  • For the grid
    • Twine or heavy string
    • garden stakes or staples
    • Scisors (you know ... to cut the string)
  • Tools
    • Sifting pan
    • Handheld shovels
    • Stakes or garden staples
    • Wire brushes
    • Picks
    • Magnifying glass(es)
    • See tools buying guide for suggestions.
  • small notebooks and pencils
  • baggies or compartmentalized box to store fossil finds.
  • and outdoor surface/table you can move to the dig site. I used our kiddie picnic table a a few times and some boards across some saw horses. Don't bring out your kitchen table, it won't lead to anything good.
  • (optional) Canopy
  • (optional) Dig site sign  
Picture
The kids digging through the tools that had been set out on the work surface.
Setting up
Set up when the kinds aren't watching. I usually do it at night after they've gone to bed. It is a bit of a pain, especially if it is dark, but having them wake up to a prepared dig site adds to the excitement.
  • Find a spot in your yard or garden that you are okay digging up. It doesn't need to be huge - a few square feet (maybe 2' by 3') and dig up the dirt - remove any plant material/grass.  Dig and till the dirt to make it loose and easy to sift through. I'll often mix in some sand just to keep it from clumping.
  • Once your site is prepared, take your fossils and begin planting them in the dirt. Try to spread the evenly and make sure they are covered up and not visible from the surface.
  • If you have some kind of canopy, set it up on or near the prepared dig site. The canopy, if you choose to use one, has a few purposes: 1 - it ads to the authentic feel but transforming your yard into a more official 'site'. 2 - if it is sunny ... shade!!! 3 - shade! 4 - shade!
  • Set up your working surface under the canopy or near the dig site. 
  • Lay out any tools you have on the surface.
Picture
The work site. Canopy, work surface, tools, and dig site (small dirt patch in back).
The dig
  • Tell the kids what they are about to embark upon - a fossil dig. They will be responsible for finding, identifying and cataloging fossils. Give them a sense of responsibility - THEY will be responsible for doing the work. THEY need to identify what they find. THEY get to keep the fossils!
  • Show them where their dig site is and have them make a grid.
    • Using stakes or garden staples, make the frame for a grid, placing your stakes/staples in a rectangular perimeter around the dig site, one stake every foot or so.
    • Using twine or string, make a grid above on the dig site. Tell them that when they find a fossil they will need to record it in their notebook and label it with the grid coordinate, e.g. A2.
  • Dig! Using handheld shovels, have the kids pick a spot on the grid and begin to dig, putting one or two shovels full of dirt/sand in the sifter at a time.
    • I put the siting pans over 5 gallon buckets to help control the spread of dirt -having the sifting pans raised and supported also made it easier on the kiddos. 
    • Rather than shaking the sifters, simply scrape the dirt/sand across with hands or shovel to let the small stuff fall through. They'll be left with larger ricks, twigs, leaves and ... fossils.
    • Have the kids make note of where they found each fossil as they find them.
    • Hint: make sure you have a reasonably good idea of where the fossils are buried so you can help suggest spots and know when they have found everything.
  • Identify. They've found the fossils...now figure out what's what.
    • Rather than finding all the fossils at once and then identifying them in bulk, I suggest identifying them as they are found - it breaks up the digging into smaller chunks and holds their attention longer.
    • Using their notebooks, have them make a small sketch of the fossil and write down the grid location where they found it.
    • Use a simple fossil identification guide (often included when you buy fossils) or a book, write down the name of the animal the fossil came from.
    • Store each fossil in a compartment in a box, such as a simple tackle box. Make a label and put it with each fossil.
Picture
Use string and some stakes or garden staples to create a grid on your dig site
Picture
Sifting - I use sifters that fit on 5 gallon buckets. Has the feel of digging for real fossils without the painstaking work of chipping them out of rock.
Picture
Some of the treasures being stored away in an adjustable tackle box for safe keeping.