The story behind it
By TurkeyMom · March 2020
Ages3–8 yrs
Prep15 min
Activity40 min
Leveleasy
MessMedium
Works for1:1 · Small group · Class
Press dinosaur skeleton figurines into rounds of salt dough to make fossil prints, bake them, then paint and glitter around the impression to make Christmas ornaments. It's a simple way to start learning about fossils using mostly household supplies.
⚠️ Safety first
- An adult handles the oven. Bake at 250°F and let the ornaments cool completely before kids touch them.
- Salt dough is not food. It is very salty and can make children and pets sick if eaten, so don't let kids taste the dough and keep it away from pets.
- Small dinosaur figurines and glitter are choking hazards for children under 3. Supervise closely.
- Keep glitter away from eyes, and wash hands after mixing dough and painting.
- Acrylic paint can stain clothes and surfaces. Use smocks and cover the table.
Before the kids arrive
- Clear oven time: the ornaments need to bake for 2-3 hours at 250°F before they can be painted, so plan the painting for a second session.
Steps
Mix 2 cups of all-purpose flour and 1 cup of salt, then add warm water a little at a time until it becomes a dough.
Roll out the dough, a little thicker than in the pictures.
Press a jar lid into the dough to cut out a nice circle for your ornament.
Press a dinosaur figurine into the circle to make a fossil print.
Poke a small hole near the top for the string.
Adult: bake the ornaments at 250°F for 2-3 hours, then let them cool completely.
Dip your brush in the paint first, then in the glitter, and paint around the fossil impression.
Let the ornaments dry, then thread string through the hole and hang or store them.
Tips
- Roll the dough out a little thicker than pictured.from the author
- Put acrylic paint and glitter in different wells of a palette. The kids dipped into the paint first and then into the glitter.from the author
- To save our fossils for future seasons, we decided to make ornaments out of them.from the author
- This activity is perfect to engage the kids with minimal supplies.from the author
Make it your own
- Use the unpainted prints to kickstart learning about fossil science: read about and research different types of fossils.
- Pair it with a fossil kit for more hands-on fossil play.
- Paint each ornament a different color. Ours were red, green and brown.
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