fossil prints

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fossil prints
By phyllis

Hi I found this somewhere on the web but don't have the URL so I can't send you there but here is an idea
Questions
What is a fossil?
Can I make a fossil print?

what you need (per person)
"stone" dough mix

1/2
cup of salt
1 cup flour
1/2 cup of brewed coffee cold
1 cup of used coffee grounds
measuring cups
mixing bowl
mixing spoons
Fossils to imprint
twigs, leaves, dead, hard-shelled bugs, seashells, chicken bones, plastic dinosaur models for skin textures or footprints.
What you do
1. Measure salt, flour, coffee, and grounds; add each to bowl and stir together

until well mixed.

2. Turn this dough out onto a large sheet of waxed paper and knead it until smooth.

3. Break off a piece large enough for the imprint you wnat to make, roll it into a ball, and use the heel of your hand to flatten it out.

4. Press the object you wish to make a fossil imprint of firmly into the dough. You can use more than one object if you like. Carefully remove the objects to leave the prints behind. Let your fake stone dry overnight and you have an imitation fossil.

What is Happening
What you are doing is very much like the way real ossil prints were created. A long time ago, plants, bugs, ora animasl left impressions in soft mud, which dried out and eventually became rock.

Much of what we know about ancient, extinct plants and animals comes from such prints. for example, that is how we know what the texture of dinosaur skin was, and how we are still tracking down the evolution of birds- since neither skin nor feathers are likely to survive as actual fossils, the way bones do.

this is the exact copy that I got from the coalition home page....but like I said I have no URL

I also just bought the CD program "I Can Be a Dinosaur Finder" from Kids click software @ www.kidsclick.com for only $14.95 plus shipping. Their phone is 888-918-9447. It looks great and has a lot to do with digging up fossils and how a paleontologist does it. I'm excited to try it in my classroom this fall.