Science Fair 2016

It's time for the Science Fair at our school!

What to do?  What to do?

Time to search Pinterest...

Time to rack my brain... or is it wrack my brain?

Time to ask the Google...

I finally decided on this project - creating trace fossils

Here is how we did it.

#1 Observation

Some areas of the world contain more fossils than others.

Is that due to the different types of soil found in the world?

#2 Question

What type of soil is the best for making a trace fossil?

We tested sand, sand mixed with moist topsoil, and moist topsoil.

#3 Hypothesis

We think that the type of soil will make a difference in the quality of the trace fossil.

Each student examined the different types of soil and them predicted which would make the best trace fossil.

#4 Predictions

#5 Experiment

We began by pressing a shell into each of the soils to create an imprint.

Then we poured plaster of paris into the imprint space.

After letting it dry overnight, we took each of the plaster of paris "fossils" out of the soil and brushed them off to remove as much soil as possible.

Then we compared each of the trace fossils to determine which one was the best - had the most ridges, had deeper ridges, had the best shape, etc.

We recorded our data by sketching scientific drawings of each of the plaster casts.

#6 Conclusion

We decided that the sand mixed with moist topsoil made the best fossil.

We also concluded that many of the areas of the world where fossils have been found must have a sand and moist topsoil mix.

The kids loved this projecct and it was a great addition to our dinosaur unit!

Want more science?  You can see the experiment that we did last year {HERE}