Thursday, January 6, 2011

SMMART SCIENCE:  DINOSAUR FOSSIL PRINTS

January 7th is "Old Rock Day"!  I'm sure citizens around the nation will be celebrating the occassion.  Even if you've never heard of it, here are a few activities to help you celebrate this random holiday!
SALT DOUGH is a great medium for Dinosaur Fossil Prints. 
(This is a Ruth Asawa's recipe from a previous post.)
4 cups white flour (you can use 2 cups wheat for a "dirtier" look)
1 cup salt
1-2 cups water

You can also gradually introduce a little sand or dirt as you add the water for a "dirtier", more natural look.

Knead the dough until it's a workable consistency and cut into 8 even pieces or whatever size you desire.
Form a small piece of dough into a flat cake.

Gather leaves, sticks, and tiny dinosaur toys.  Press an object into the top of the salt dough cake to leave an imprint or faux fossil.

Cook the individual salt dough faux fossils on a cookie sheet at 250-325 degrees until the salt dough is very hard (over an hour).  Let them cool for a bit.

It's fun to let your child paint their faux fossils with tempura or acrylics.  When they dry, you can hide the faux fossils in the back yard sand box or in a bin or dry oatmeal flakes inside the house.  Go for a fossil dig!

As you create your faux fossils, you can talk about how real fossils form.  Read a book together on the subject or look up fossil pictures on the internet.  There are some great dinosaur coloring pages with information about each one at http://www.zoomschool.com/subjects/dinosaurs/.

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