The One About the Fossil Craft

Earth Science provided an excellent crafting opportunity.  My second grade students and I were talking about fossils -- how they were formed, what a paleontologist is, why people study fossils.  I did not have real fossils on hand so I had to resort to illustrations and videos.  At the end of the unit, I had my students make craft fossils to emphasize the imprinting that happens in fossil formation and how it can be used to study living things.

It's real easy. :)  My students pressed play dough at the bottom of a paper bowl.

We scoured the school grounds for rocks, leaves, and even sea shells and used them to make imprints.

I then helped them mix 4 parts water and 8 parts Plaster of Paris and poured it over the play dough and rocks (or leaves or shells).  After a few hours, we tore the paper bowl and scraped off the play dough.

The fun part was painting the fossils.  I know it doesn't look authentic if painted but we preferred that they looked pretty. :)

As a creative writing link, they wrote stories about their fossils, spinning tales about the creature that made the imprint, what they ate, how they lived, and, of course, how they died.

How's that for crafts in Science?  Happy crafting! :)