Preview draft. Activities have not been tested with caregivers.
Science · The activity desk
Fossil trackway clues
Draw a pretend trackway and discuss what footprints can show.
Let's play →
A little plan for play
Open interactive activity →Add to play journal →What you need
A full sheet of paper and a large child-appropriate crayon.
Age: 3–5 years; choose for the individual child.
Let's make it happen
- Draw a line of large three-toed footprints across the page, with space between each print.
- Trace the direction they travel and imagine an animal making the marks in soft mud.
- Explain that some ancient footprints became trace fossils. Ask what the pattern might suggest, while remembering it cannot tell us everything about the animal.
Adult stays beside the child. These are invented tracks, not real fossils.