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Enjoy this fun Fossil activity with your curious little explorer!
- Pour a layer of water into the bottom of two different containers and freeze until solid.
- Arrange toys in one container and plant pieces in another. Set them slightly apart so that they are not overlapping.
- Fill the containers the rest of the way up with water and freeze overnight.
- The next day, observe the ice fossils. What differences do you notice between the plant fossils and toy fossils?
Try to release the toys from their ice.
- What tools do you need to use?
- How do you think this is similar to scientists doing the same thing with real fossils? What tools might they use?
- Can you work quickly, or do you need to be careful?
Leave the plants in ice for a week and then let them thaw.
- Are the plants the exact same as they were before they were frozen? How have the plants changed?
- Think about real plant ice fossils. Instead of staying in the ice for a week, they stay in the ice for millions of years. How might they change over time?
Click here to download the printable pdf.
