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Fossils are the remains (or impressions) of a plant or animal that used to live on the earth a long time ago. They have been found all over the world and now you can find one at your house! That is because with this activity, you get to make your very own fossil!

Fossil Materials

Potting soil, preferably organic
White school glue
Different shapes of pasta
Plastic, aluminum or Styrofoam tray
Plastic bowl
Spoon
Measuring cup
Scissors
Felt sheet

Let's discover dinosaur fossils!

1. Mix 1 cup of potting soil with some of the glue to form a dough-like ball. It should not be too wet. But if the ball falls apart, you might need to add a little more glue at a time, until you get it just right.

2. Once you have rolled it into a nice ball, place it into the tray. Press it flat until it is about one half inch thick.

3. Now for the fun part! Design your own dinosaur fossil using the different pasta shapes. Press the pasta into the soil and leave it there. To set, cover the pasta with more glue. Allow to dry completely, about 2 days.

4. When the soil is completely dry, place it on top of a felt sheet and trace its shape. Then cut the felt sheet where you've traced and glue it to the bottom of your fossil plate.

5. Now you can make up the whole story about 'your dinosaur' that you've discovered. Was he from the Jurassic period? Was he a meat-eater? And don't forget to give him a name - since you are the 'paleontologist' that found him, you could name him after yourself if you wanted to!

5. Display or give as a gift to somebody who is crazy about dinosaurs. Can they guess which dinosaur's bones these are?

Submitted by Leximom