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Science Launch G3 / Week 09 / Launch Lab
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Week 09 · Fossil Clues

Launch Lab

Launch Lab: Trace Hunt
// Reading the past in rock
⏱ about 15 min

Launch Lab: Trace Hunt

After the rain, Rocket finds tiny prints in the mud by the sidewalk. "Who made these?" he asks.

Raven crouches down. "What do you notice? How many toes? How far apart?"

Nova shines her light on the prints. "These are traces," she says. "Today's traces can become fossils someday."

  1. A fossil is evidence of past life saved in rock.
  2. Body fossils are parts of living things. Trace fossils show what they did.
  3. Fossils form in layers of sedimentary rock. The oldest layer is at the bottom.
  4. Sea fossils on land show a sea was once there. Palm fossils show a warm past.
◇ TRACE HUNT
Walk outside with a grown-up. Look near mud, sand, snow or dust.
Find traces: footprints, tracks, nibbled leaves or holes in the ground.
Look closely. Do not touch any animal.
Draw each trace you find.
Guess what made it. Talk about your clues.
Safety first
Stay with your grown-up the whole time.
Look, but do not touch animals or their droppings.
Wash your hands when you get home.
For a grown-up
Ask: what did you notice? What would you change?
Ask: which trace would make the best fossil? Why?
LAUNCH LAB CHECK
  • Read the question.
  • Tap your answer.
A bird footprint in mud is what kind of clue?
A footprint fossil is a ____ fossil.
The oldest layer is at the ____.
Palm fossils show the past was ____.
TRACE THINKING
  • Read the question.
  • Tap your answer.
Which trace would most likely last long enough to become a fossil?
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