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Curious Kids: Fossils

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Some books below may be eBooks or audiobooks. ask a librarian or parent for help.

Fun Activities

Dig for Chips!
Try this at home: be a kitchen paleontologist! Get a cookie with chips or nuts in it. Then, using only toothpicks or safe kitchen tools (ask a grownup!), try to dig the chips or nuts out of the cookie without damaging any. Not so easy!

Celebrate National Fossil Day October 17
Check out the art contest, with kids’ categories!

Junior Paleontologist Activity Booklet from the National Park Service
This printable activity book has lots of puzzles, activities and games about fossils, and loads of information. When finished, you qualify for a badge. To get your badge, follow the instructions on this page.

Mystery Fossil from the University of California Museum of Paleontology
Even if you can’t guess the mystery fossil from its picture, there’s a lot to learn from checking the answer, and looking at the archives (their previous mystery fossil images.)

Burying Bodies, from the BBC
This interactive page lets you see what happens when an animal carcass is put in different environments. Will a fossil form?

Layers of Time Fossil Game from the American Museum of Natural History
Fossils appear in soil and rock layers over time. Can you put them in order? Try the different levels!

Movies

Rockfinders: Hunt for Rocks, Minerals and Fossils! [DVD]
Learn the basics with host Max Orbit.

Bill Nye the Science Guy: Rocks & Soil [DVD]
Bill unearths the hard facts of rocks and soil. Check out how to unearth fossils!

Websites

Fossil Collecting at Caesar Creek Lake
Check this page for information about what to do when you go fossil-hunting at Caesar Creek Lake. Here is a list of other sites around the state of Ohio.

Cincinnati Fossils
A listing of all types of fossils found in the Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana region. Keep clicking until you reach the photos!

Paleoecology, from the University of California Museum of Paleontology (UCMP)
Paleoecology lets us learn about long-ago environments by studying plant fossils. (Click on "Next" or "More" when it appears, to see all the screens.)

Stories from the Fossil Record, also from UCMP
Learn how fossils can be used to interpret the past, exploring four pathways: biodiversity, geologic time, paleoecology and past lives.

Rock/Fossil/Mineral Identification from the State of Ohio
Lots of information to help you figure out what sort of rock, mineral or fossil you’ve found. If you’re stumped, you can even submit a photo! (Be sure to ask your parents first.)

What’s the Point? from the Ohio Public Library Information Network
Paleontologists search for fossils, and sometimes find artifacts that help them date fossils in the same area. Have you found any Ohio flint arrowheads? This site will help you identify and date any you find!