Fossil Friends
Discovery Lab Investigation
NGSS
K-ESS2-1. Use observations (firsthand or from media) to describe patterns in the natural
world in order to answer scientific questions. (K-ESS2-1)
2-LS4-1.
Make observations of plants and animals to compare the diversity of life in
different habitats. [Clarification Statement: Emphasis is on the diversity of living things
in each of a variety of different habitats.] [Assessment Boundary: Assessment does not
include specific animal and plant names in specific habitats.]
3-LS4-1.
Analyze and interpret data from fossils to provide evidence of the organisms and
the environments in which they lived long ago. [Clarification Statement: Examples of
data could include type, size, and distributions of fossil organisms. Examples of fossils
and environments could include marine fossils found on dry land, tropical plant fossils
found in Arctic areas, and fossils of extinct organisms.] [Assessment Boundary:
Assessment does not include identification of specific fossils or present plants and
animals. Assessment is limited to major fossil types and relative ages.]
Outcomes:
 Participants use an inquiry process to build their own understanding.
 Participants can describe what a fossil is and how they help us know about ancient
living things.
 Participants can describe that a variety of organisms can create different types of
fossils.
Lab Overview
This lab begins by asking students to share what they know about fossils, and what kinds of
things lived on Earth in the past. This is a list we will come back to at the end to show a growth in
knowledge. Our scientist will help students define fossils as clues left behind by living things and then
introduce the idea that scientists make fossil casts as a way to share fossils and allow many people to
study them to learn about life from the past.
Each table group will get a set of fossil molds taken from our Climb Through Time climbing wall
exhibit. Students will work to answer the question “What kinds of things lived on Earth in the past?” by
finding their molds on a copy of the informational sign from the exhibit. With the help of their group’s
adult leader, students will learn a little bit about the fossils they will make casts of, and then sort their
molds based on what they show: whole body, partial body, trace. Then students will make their own
fossil casts to take home by mixing a small amount of plaster (facilitated at each table by the adult
leader) and scooping it into their own mold and setting them aside to cure.
In the last portion of this lab students will get to handle and observe real fossils in order to
answer the question, “What types of things can become or make fossils?” Groups will explore as
many sets of fossils as time allows before we wrap up the lab by adding to our initial list of fossil
knowledge from the beginning of the lab. Our fossils range from familiar fossils such as shark teeth
and leaf prints, to less common samples such as a mammoth tusk and dinosaur egg shell. Always a
hands-on hit, this lab feeds the tactile learner and gives families a take-home treasure to spark
discussion.
Key Concepts: Fossil, organisms
 A fossil is evidence left behind by a living thing long ago. A fossil could be a body fossil (an actual
part of the plant or animal, often replaced by mineral/rock) or a trace fossil (an imprint left
behind…a foot print is a trace fossil).
o Fossils are formed when something that was living is buried for a long time and
becomes preserved. It is hard to find fossils of soft bodied organisms because soft
parts, like flesh or leaves, tend to decompose before they can be preserved.
o Fossils can preserve whole organisms or parts of bodies by replacing them or making a
cast of them.
o Trace fossils preserve traces of activities such as foot prints or burrows.
 Fossils help us understand the history of Earth.
o They tell us the story of the things that have lived on Earth before humans were around.
We can see the size and shape of living things, which helps us picture the organisms
themselves, as well as artifacts like eggs, footprints, and locations, which help us
understand a bit about how these organisms lived.
o They also help us understand how the land has moved over time. We see fossils of
animals that could not swim on different continents. We find organisms in Arctic areas
that needed tropical weather to survive. These clues tell us that land has moved over
millions of years to where continents are today.
 Living things, or organisms, are things that need energy, grow, and can make more of
themselves (reproduce).