Download Ground Coffee Native Plant Fossils

Ground Coffee Native Plant Fossils
Fossils are naturally preserved remains of things that lived a long time ago.
Usually they are from animals or plants. When scientists study fossils they give
them a good idea of what living things looked like thousands and even millions
of years ago.
This activity shows you how to make a fossil of your very own. You can make
imprints of leaves, seeds, grasses, twigs, or petals. Try to find a wide
assortment of native plant materials with different textures, sizes, and shapes.
You Will Need:
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Used coffee grounds
Cold coffee
Flour salt
Mixing bowl
Waxed paper
Cup or cookie cutter
1. Mix in a bowl:
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1 cup of used coffee grounds
½ cup of cold coffee
1 cup of flour
½ cup of salt
2. Once the ingredients are well mixed, turn the dough onto a sheet of
waxed paper. Knead the dough until it no longer sticks to your fingers.
You may need to add a little more flour to get the consistency right.
3. When the dough is ready, spread it out on the wax paper and use a cup or
cookie cutter to cut out small circles.
4. Press small objects into the dough to leave behind impressions. You may
want to put a little flour or oil on the object to prevent it from sticking.
5. Poke a hole in the edge of your fossil if you want to hang it on a string
and set it to dry overnight.
6. If your fossil does not dry out completely you can bake it in the oven
until it is hard (make sure an adult helps you with this!).
This activity was adapted from the “SaskPower Shand Greenhouse Review” Autumn 2007 – Vol. 11,
Issue 2, pg. 6.