Let’s go digging for fossils this National Fossil Day! Here are some fascinating fossil crafts for kids to make and learn all about fossils!

In Jurassic Park, the story begins with John Hammond, the creator of the park, inviting some experts to ensure the park is safe. But how does he create the park in the first place?

With dinosaur fossils, of course!

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What are fossils?

A fossil is any preserved remains or traces of something that once lived on Earth. This could be anything from shells to footprints to entire skeletons. These could be preserved in amber, wood or rock. Even poop can be fossilized!

Contrary to what most people believe, fossils aren’t only of animals like dinosaurs; they can also be of insects or plants. If it had life, it could be fossilized!

How are fossils formed?

When an animal dies, parts like skin and fat decompose, leaving behind harder parts like bones. As time passes, the bones absorb minerals from their surroundings, and they get pressurized by the accumulation of sea and silt above. Over several thousand years, sedimentary rock is created with the fossilized bone inside, and finally, only the rock is left behind.

Fossils aren’t just great inspiration for movies like Jurassic Park – they also give us valuable information about our past! With fossils, we can learn about how things were millions of years ago- the environment, ancient creatures, evolution and more.

With National Fossil Day coming up on 15th October, we think it’s the perfect time to introduce kids to the wonderful world of fossils – with some fascinating fossil crafts for kids!

10 Fascinating Fossil Crafts for Kids

1. Fossil Day Puzzle Craft for Kids

Do you know that you can find a dinosaur fossil practically anywhere? So far, dinosaur fossils have been found on all seven continents, including Antarctica! Ancient scholars like Aristotle and Avicenna were the earliest experts in this area, who realized that fossils were once animals that roamed the earth.

2. Salt Dough Dinosaur Fossils

Although a fossil is technically rock, it looks and feels different. Fossils are porous and stickier than rocks, while rocks are smoother. You can learn more about the differences between fossils and rocks as you make this fun fossil project from Made to be a Momma.

3. Fossil Drawing Tutorial and Coloring Page

Before science, people discovered fossils and believed they were giant monsters. This gave rise to several legends and myths all over the world. Egyptians worshipped the God Set, based on a hippo fossil, while sea urchin fossils became the deity Sopdu in Roman mythology and Thor in Norse mythology. The Chinese thought the fossils were dragon bones, while North American tribes believed pterosaur fossils were associated with the thunderbird. Try your hand at drawing your own fossils with this tutorial from Art Projects for Kids!

4. Fossil Sensory Bin Activity

We can’t list out fossil crafts for kids without talking about where the word fossil comes from! It comes from the Latin word ‘fossilis’, which means ‘dug up’. Initially, that was what the word ‘fossil’ meant – something that was dug up. Later, it was changed to mean ‘preserved remains’. Technically, the remains need to be 10,000 years or older to qualify as a fossil. Let’s try our hand at digging with this project from ABCs of Literacy!

5. Coffee Ground Fossils

Did you know that even poo can be fossilized? Yes, there is a collection of it at the Natural History Museum! The technical name for it is coprolite, and it can provide information about what those animals liked to eat. Crafts by Amanda shows us how to create fossils out of coffee grounds, which does look a little like poo!

6. Dinosaur Fossil Scavenger Hunt

Searching for fossils is a lot like a scavenger hunt, come to think about it. So it’s only fair that we include this scavenger hunt printable from Lock Paper Escape in our list of fossil crafts for kids! The people who study fossils are called paleontologists, and their field of study is called paleontology.

7. Bug Fossil Playdough Activity

As mentioned earlier, fossils can be of any living creature, including insects and plants. They can also vary in size, from one micrometer to several meters long. The largest known fossil is of a Sequoia tree, while there are also microfossils of things that can’t be seen with the naked eye. The Inspiration Edit gives us an example of an insect fossil project using playdough.

8. DIY Dinosaur Fossil Rocks

While making fossil crafts for kids may be easy, actually retrieving fossils is quite a long, punishing process! For instance, an elasmosaur fossil was discovered on an island in the Antarctic in 1989, but complete excavation could only be completed in 2017! However, you don’t have to work that hard to extract fossils from rocks in this project from Raising Veggie Lovers!

9. Plaster of Paris Fossil Activity

Experts have also recovered fossils of humans, the most famous one being of a female called Lucy. Lucy was discovered in Ethiopia in 1974. From her fossil, experts learnt that she lived 3.2 million years ago, was just over a metre tall, weighed around 28 kg, and ate fruits and plants. She was named after a Beatles song, ‘Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds’. Maybe you can name the fossils you make in this fossil activity from The Crafty Classroom!

10. Dinosaur Pasta Fossils Activity

These days, modern technology has made it easier to study fossils and gather information. Paleontologists today use advanced imaging technology to get a 3D view of the structure of fossils, as well as biomechanics to reconstruct their movement. Learn more about the scientific advances in paleontology as you put together these fun pasta dinosaur fossils from Kindergarten Worksheets and Games!

We hope you’ve enjoyed learning about fossils with these fossil crafts for kids. We also hope it inspires at least some kids to think of going deeper (pun intended) into it, and maybe think of paleontology as a career option. Who knows what they can dig up!

If you’re looking for more educational crafts and activities for kids, check these out: