Bury chicken bones in plaster of Paris to see the challenges paleontologists face when excavating fossils.

Fossilized bones are usually very delicate and deeply buried in rocks.  Removing them in a lab takes skill, patience, and the right tools.

In this activity, you and a friend will create two make-believe dig sites by burying chicken bones in plaster of Paris – a powder that hardens when wet. Then you’ll try to excavate (dig out) the “fossils.”