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

Wednesday

Make a fossil
// Reading the past in rock
⏱ about 15 min

Wednesday: Make a Fossil

Rocket presses his shoe into soft mud. "Look, a fossil!" he says.

Raven giggles. "Not yet. But what do you notice? Could someone guess who made it?"

Nova hovers over the print. "Real paleontologists guess from prints," she says. "Make some prints for a friend to solve."

Your investigation

You will make model fossils in clay. Then a partner will try to guess what made each one.

  • Modeling clay
  • A paper plate
  • Things to press: a leaf, a shell, a toy animal, a fork for scratch marks
  • Index cards or scraps of paper
  • A pencil
Safety first
Clay never goes in your mouth.
Use the toy animal's feet for prints, not sharp tools near fingers.
Wash your hands when you finish.
  1. Flatten three balls of clay into thick pancakes on the plate.
  2. Press a leaf or shell into one pancake. Lift it out gently.
  3. Walk a toy animal across the second pancake to make footprints.
  4. Drag a fork across the third to make a tunnel mark.
  5. On a card for each, write what made it. Write body or trace.
  6. Hide the cards. Ask your partner to guess.
MAKE A PREDICTION
  • Read the question.
  • Tap your answer.
Your toy animal walks across the clay. What kind of fossil does that model?
You press a real shell into clay and lift it out. The print shows what?
Model fossilWhat made itDid my partner guess it? (yes or no)
1
2
3
Model fossilIs it a trace fossil?
Toy animal footprints?
Fork tunnel mark?
Shell print?
WHY THIS EXERCISEFootprints and tunnels are traces. A shell shape models a body fossil.

Real fossils and model fossils

Your clay prints are models. Real fossils form in rock over a very long time.

But scientists read real fossils the same way your partner read yours. They look for clues.

CLUE READING
  • Read the question.
  • Tap your answer.
A print has three thin toes. What made it more likely?
A print has thin lines that spread out like veins. What made it more likely?
How long does it take a real fossil to form? Type one word: quick or long.
WHY THIS EXERCISEReal fossils form over a very long time.

Awesome fossil making! Tomorrow we use real fossils to discover what places were like long ago.

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