Fossil Dig Coloring Page

This fossil dig coloring page shows a young scientist of today kneeling at a dig site, brushing the dust from a huge dinosaur skull. A long row of back bones and ribs curves through the rock above. It is a fun change from the usual dinosaur scene, and it suits kids from about 5 to 11, especially any who like to play scientist.

The side of the bank is cut away, so you can see each layer of rock with bones and stones inside. Up on the surface there is a camp tent with a flag, a hammer, a bucket and a string line marking out the site. Down on the floor of the dig, you will find a second bucket, another hammer and a trowel.

Fossil dig coloring page color ideas

Rock layers are the secret to this picture. Each band should be a slightly different earth color, so it looks as if thousands of years are stacked up.

• Top band: light sandy tan
• Next band: pale cream or yellow
• Third band: warm orange brown
• Bottom band: dark brown for the deepest rock

Fossils look best in a color close to the rock, but a shade darker. That makes it feel as if the bones are still stuck in the ground. Stay away from bright white, because real fossil bones are usually brown or gray.

Now for the kid. Your child can dress this scientist any way they like, and can color the skin and hair to look like themselves. That is a lovely touch. A straw hat, a bright shirt under the tan vest and blue work pants look good together, but it is entirely their call.

Tips for neat coloring

Start with the sky and the far hills, since these are quick. Next, do the bands of rock, working around the bones. Then come back for the fossils and the small stones. Finish with the kid, so the brightest colors land on the top of everything.

The skull has big openings. Color those in dark brown and it will suddenly look like a real skull. The backbone has small parts, so use a sharp pencil there. It takes about thirty five minutes altogether.

A real kid who found fossils

Children really have made big finds. Mary Anning grew up in Lyme Regis, on the south coast of England. Around 1811, when she was about 12, her brother found a strange skull. A few months later, Mary found the rest of the skeleton. It was an ichthyosaur, a sea reptile.

She went on to collect fossils from the sea cliffs all her life, often in winter, when landslides had opened up fresh rock. She found the first two nearly complete plesiosaur skeletons. As a working class woman, she got little credit in her lifetime. The Wikipedia article on Mary Anning tells her full story.

A fossil forms when remains are buried and minerals in the ground water seep in. Slowly, over a very long time, the bone turns to something much like stone. Scientists who study fossils are called paleontologists.

Dig at home

You can run a small dig on a kitchen table. Press a few clean chicken bones or small plastic toys into a tray of damp sand, or bake them into salt dough. Hand your child a paintbrush and a spoon, then let them work slowly. Have them draw what they find in a little field notebook.

In class, split the students into dig teams and give each group a bin with buried objects. They mark a grid with string, just like the string in the picture, and record what turns up in each square.

Want to see what those bones looked like all put together? Print the dinosaur skeleton coloring page next. The T rex coloring page then shows the living animal.

Questions