Fossil casting allows students to analyze fossil symmetry and record observations about different types of fossils and their sizes and shapes. Use modeling clay to mold around sea shell, rock or bone fossils. Gently peel back the clay and lay it flat. Check to see it the imprint made has all the detail you want from the object. Lay the molded fossils on a table and set aside. Prepare a plaster of Paris mixture and fill each molded fossil until the mixture reaches the top of the mold, trying not to overfill the mold. Let it dry overnight. Remove the dried plaster of Paris molds and gently chip away or sand down any rough edges. Observe the molds and check for symmetry by looking for lines, veining, leaves and other markings that appear on both sides of the mold. Also count the number of leaves and note their shape and size. Make notes of your observations.
When pieces of rock, bone or shells get buried, often their shape is filled in with a variety of minerals which produce a raised effect. Footprints of animals or imprints from plants leave impressions when they turn into fossils. In this project, you can make your own fossils by using a special mixture of coffee grounds, flour, salt and cold coffee. Mix 1 cup of coffee grounds, 1 cup of flour and 1/2 cup of salt into a bowl. Add 1/2 cup of cold coffee to the mixture and kneed to make a dough. Roll out the dough and cut small circles with a cookie cutter. Press small objects into the dough. Use things like rocks, twigs, leaves, plastic insects and seashells. Remove the objects and let the fossils of the objects dry overnight. Affix the objects to science boards with hot glue or strong white glue and indicate the lines of symmetry found in the objects. Compare and contrast the fossils, as some will be symmetrical and others will not.
Fossil symmetry can be used to identify fossils and put them into time periods, modes of life, how they formed and their environment. This project takes certain types of fossils and identifies them on a chart. Create a chart using a large piece of poster board or the sections of a science presentation board. Mount several different types of fossils. You can use fossils from your classroom or fossils found on nature hikes, beaches and other sources. Attach each fossil to the board. Your chart should include how the fossil formed, the fossil environment, the type of sedimentary rock it is, its mode of life and its geological time period.
This fossil science projects goes a little farther with symmetry by actually putting symmetrical fossils into symmetry categories. Choose six different fossils. Fossils for science projects and classroom use can be purchased online. Divide the fossils into groups: fossils with radial or pentagonal symmetry, fossils with bilateral symmetry and asymmetrical fossils. For each fossil within each category, write down other details that can help identify the fossil, such as whether they are cylindrical in shape, covered in plates or coiled and divided into parts. Put all of the information into a chart and mount each fossil to the chart with hot glue or strong white glue. Display on a science project board.