Mum Creates Mini Fossil Dig Site

Mother creates palaeontology in a plastic tub for her children.

We are always impressed by the efforts of parents, grandparents and guardians who do so much to help encourage and inspire their young charges.  This week, whilst visiting a primary school to conduct a series of workshops with Year 2 children, we were given a tour of the classrooms and shown some of the amazing dinosaur and fossil themed crafts and activities created by the children and their grown-up helpers.

Amongst the numerous posters, dinosaur models and prehistoric dioramas that had been made, we spotted one enterprising family’s contribution.  Mum had created a mini fossil dig for her child, a very clever idea indeed.

A Mini Fossil Dig Site Created as Part of a Term Topic Learning About Dinosaurs

palaeontology in a plastic tub.
Digging away. Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur.

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur

For fossil dig kits and other prehistoric animal themed activities, visit the Everything Dinosaur website.

Take a look at this section of our website here: Prehistoric Animal Models and Educational Toys and Games.

Palaeontologists do use brushes when working on a fossil excavation.  The general rule is, the closer you get to the fossil material the smaller the tools you use.  For example, when removing the surrounding matrix from a fossil bone in the field, we use small brushes and tiny dental picks, to take away the surrounding rock, one grain at a time.  In this way, progress may be very slow but at least the fossil is protected and not likely to be damaged.

To create her “palaeontology in a plastic tub”, the mum made salt dough fossils and rolled up pieces of white paper to represent bones.  An old paint brush makes an ideal tool for brushing off the dirt, so this budding young scientist can find and identify the fossils.

What a simple, but very effective idea!

Visit the Everything Dinosaur website: Everything Dinosaur.