Coffee Ground Fossils
Kids will love creating their own fossils by using old coffee grounds, some cold coffee for color, and of course, salt and flour.
Makes: 8 fossils
Supplies
- 1 cup of used coffee grounds
- 1/2 cup of cold coffee
- 1 cup of flour
- 1/2 cup of salt
- Wax paper
- Mixing bowl
- Some small objects to make impressions in the dough Shaped cookie cutters work well.
- Empty can or a butter knife
- Toothpicks optional
- String to hang your fossil optional
Instructions
- Get a grown up to brew a small amount of coffee (you’ll only need ½ cup for the activity) and save the grounds. Allow time for the coffee to cool. For younger kids, you may want to measure out the ingredients ahead of time, but older kids will enjoy measuring.
- Stir together the coffee grounds, coffee, flour, and salt, until well mixed.
- Knead the dough and then flatten it out onto the wax paper.
- Use the can to cut out circles (or the cookie cutters/knife to cut out fun shapes).
- Press the small objects firmly into the dough, to leave an imprint. Remove the object, and there’s your fossil! You can use a toothpick to poke a small hole near the edge of the fossil, if you want to hang it later.
- Let the fossil dry and harden overnight (depending on how thick you make them, they could take longer).
Expert Tips & FAQs
- Mixing up the dough is a great sensory activity. Allow kids to knead the dough together with their hands to finish the mixing process.
- Kids can try all sorts of objects to press into their fossil dough. We’ve used toy dinosaurs and a seashell. But honestly they can use whatever they want to create texture!
- These work well as visual aids for science projects and make a fun Earth Day craft for kids.
- For younger kids, you may want to measure out the ingredients ahead of time, but older kids will enjoy measuring.