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Make your own fossil
Make a mold with plaster of Paris and
assorted leaves, sticks or shells. Use disposable buckets or dishpans for
mixing the plaster of Paris and water. To make your own fossil you will
need:
Mix 2 cups of plaster with 1 ¼ cups of water in the container. Spread the
plaster in the bottom of the pan to about 1-inch thick. Wait about 2 minutes
until the plaster begins to set. Coat the shells, leaves or sticks with
petroleum jelly and press into the plaster just enough to dent the surface.
Remove items after a few minutes and let set until it’s completely hard.
This is the mold.
Coat each mold (indent from shells etc.) with petroleum jelly. Now mix up
another batch of plaster and pour into the molds. Let the plaster harden,
then gently separate the “fossil” from the mold. If they don’t separate
easily, hold the pan upright and gently tap with small hammer.
Kids will find this dinosaur activity very interesting. If you want, make a
hand or foot prints using the same procedure as making a fossil from leaves
or sticks. Just remember to coat the kids’ hand or foot thickly with
petroleum jelly. Now the kids can say they know what a Paleontologist is.
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