Use your child’s curiosity as fuel for learning with this easy craft! These fossils are simple to make and will lead to conversations about life long ago.
Fossils are the remains or impressions of plants and animals that lived long ago. If a creature was quickly buried after it died, the sediment over its bones hardened and preserved what was underneath.
Fossils help us understand what life would have been like thousands and thousands of years ago.
Here is a simple craft where kids can create their own bug fossils using toy insects and airdry clay.
Supplies:
- Airdry clay (or you can use this recipe for DIY Oven Bake Clay)
- Toy bugs
- Placemat (optional, but highly recommended)
Directions:
- Separate your clay into sections about as large as a ping-pong ball.
- Gently take one section of clay and tap it into a ball.
- Use your hand and flatten the clay ball into a cookie shape.
- Select a toy bug and press it into the clay cookie.
- Carefully remove the toy bug. You should be left with an impression of the insect on the clay cookie.
- Repeat steps 2-5 with your remaining sections of clay.
- Allow the bug fossils to dry entirely.
As children manipulate the clay with their hands, they are prepping those little hand muscles for the big task of writing. They also are learning the concepts of pressure, depth, and texture.
A great way to extend learning with this project would be to bury the completed bug fossils in a sandbox or sensory bin and have your children excavate them.
Looking for another clay project to do with your children? Check out this blog post on Homemade Candle Holders or this lesson plan for Pinch Pots inspired by Maria Martinez. ⠀
