The Power of Parenting

Saturday, 20 March 2010

Fantastic Fossil

Making a fossil from clay and plaster will inspire your child’s curiosity about the natural world. Here is an unusual craft that invites you to spend some Comfort, Play & Teach™ time being creative together!

 

You will need:
  • Clay or firm modeling dough
  • Small objects to press into the clay (e.g., pine cone, rock, twigs, toy dinosaurs)
  • 2 cups Plaster of Paris
  • 1 ¼ cups water
  • Empty margarine container

 

 

Instructions:
  • Press some clay or modeling dough into the bottom of the margarine container, to form a thick layer.
  • Press different objects into the clay and then remove these once you are satisfied with the design you made.
  • Combine the Plaster of Paris with water and then pour the mixture into the margarine container, completely covering the clay.
  • When the Plaster of Paris has hardened, remove it from the margarine container. You will have created a fossil from the impressions made in the clay.

 

Enjoy this more with Comfort, Play & Teach™:

Comfort

Comfort:Involve your child in selecting a place to proudly display the fossil she made. Family members will have the chance to admire it and to ask about how she created it.

Play

Play:Go on a treasure hunt to find interesting materials to use for creating a fossil. What kinds of household objects or nature items will make interesting impressions in the clay?

Teach

Teach:Visit a museum and look at actual prehistoric fossils. Talk about how fossils are created in nature and what they tell us about plants and creatures that lived long ago.