VIRTUAL FOSSILS MUSEUM

virtual fossils museum

A Collaborative eTwinning Activity

Şehit Ömer Halisdemir Primary/Secondary School/Türkiye

CEIP Baudilio Arce. Oviedo/ Asturias/Spain

Muzkent Primary School/Gazipaşa/Türkiye

İl Genel Meclisi Primary School /Türkiye

Szkoła Podstawowa im. Kardynała Stefana Wyszyńskiego w Siedlinie

ceip baudilio arce. oviedo. spain

Main types of fossils

Insects in amber

Early marine invertebrates

Ammonites

Microfossils

Woolly Mammoth

Dinosaurs

Fern Fossils

Trilobites

Stomatolites

Şehit Ömer Halisdemir Primary/Secondary School / TÜRKİYE

Fossils Through Time

Microfossils 2 bya

Ammonites 240 mya

Insects in Amber 100 mya

Trilobites 520 mya

Stomatolites 3.5 bya

Fern Fossils 300 mya

Early Marine Invertebrates 600 mya

Dinosaurs230-65 mya

Woolly Mammoth 400,000 years ago

Muzkent Primary School/Gazipaşa/TÜRKİYE

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Szkoła Podstawowa im. Kardynała Stefana Wyszyńskiego w Siedlinie

Fossils Through Time

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İl Genel Meclisi Primary School /TÜRKİYE

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STUDENTS' ACTIVITIES

We look for information about fossils

Şehit Ömer Halisdemir Primary/Secondary School/Türkiye

CEIP Baudilio Arce. Oviedo. Spain

Muzkent Primary School/Gazipaşa/Türkiye

İl Genel Meclisi Primary School /Türkiye

Szkoła Podstawowa im. Kardynała Stefana Wyszyńskiego w Siedlinie

discovering rocks and fossils

Woolly mammoths

Woolly mammoths were large, elephant-like animals covered in thick fur that helped them survive in very cold climates during the Ice Age, about 10,000–300,000 years ago. They lived in cold areas like Europe, Asia, and North America and ate grass and plants. Some mammoths have been found very well preserved in ice. They are famous because they are one of the best-known Ice Age animals and help scientists understand how animals adapted to cold environments in the past.

Discovery: As a result of tectonic movements, earthquakes, and erosion spanning millions of years, rocks in the Earth's crust are worn away or displaced. In this way, buried fossils are brought to the surface and discovered.

Body Fossils These are the hard parts of an organism (bones, teeth, shells, or woody tissues) that have been directly transformed into stone. Bones and Teeth: Remains of dinosaurs or extinct mammals. Shells: Hard outer forms of organisms such as sea snails and ammonites.

Insects in Amber

“Insects preserved perfectly in tree resin.” Some insects were trapped inside sticky tree resin that later became amber. These fossils are very special because they preserve tiny details of ancient insects.

Pentagonal shapes (five-sided)Pentagonal symmetry is common to echinoderms.

• Top view of a crinoid calyx.
• Fragmentary plates of crinoids, blastoids, and other echinoderms.

5-pointed star shapesStars are generally five-sided in fossils, and this type of symmetry is common to echinoderms. Several types of fossil echinoderms can be found in Kentucky.

• Top view of a blastoid calyx, often has a star-shape on it. It can look like a starfish on a blastoid.
• A star-shaped hole in the center of a circular fossil is typical of some crinoid columnals

Stromatolites (Precambrian)

They are rock-like structures made by tiny living things called bacteria. These bacteria lived in shallow seas a very long time ago (more than 3 billion years ago) and slowly built layers by trapping mud and minerals. They are some of the oldest signs of life on Earth and show how the first living things helped change our planet and make it possible for other life to appear.

CEIP Baudilio Arce. Oviedo. Spain

Insects are preserved in amber when they become trapped in tree resin, which hardens, resists decay, and fossilizes—often preserving fine details like wings, hairs, and even microscopic structures.

Amber fossils commonly preserve ants, flies, beetles, spiders, plant material, and even small vertebrates, providing a rare window into ancient ecosystems.

Bug-like shapes

Petrification (Mineralization): This is the process of petrification where minerals such as silica, calcite, or iron are taken up from the organic matter retained in the accumulation of living organisms. The transformation of tree trunks into stone (petrified forests) is an example of this.

Mineral Filling (Periminerization): Dissolved minerals such as calcium, iron, and silicon in groundwater fill the pores of the organism's bone or shell structure and crystallize.

Fossilization: Over time, the covering sedimentary layers transform into rocks. The organic matter in the organism's remains completely dissolves, giving way to inorganic minerals, which then harden and petrify.

Dinosaurs

“Giant reptiles ruled the Earth.” Dinosaurs were giant reptiles that lived on Earth millions of years ago. Scientists study their bones, teeth, and footprints to learn about prehistoric life.

Stromatolites

“The earliest evidence of life on Earth.” Stromatolites are among the oldest fossils on Earth. They were formed by tiny bacteria living in shallow seas billions of years ago. These fossils show the earliest signs of life on our planet.

Early Marine Invertebrates

“The first animals living in the oceans.” Early marine invertebrates were some of the first animals living in the sea. They included soft-bodied creatures, corals, and shellfish-like animals. Their fossils help us understand early ocean life.

Preserved Fossils These are extraordinary natural capsules in which living organisms have survived to the present day without undergoing the decomposition process, with their soft tissues, skin, feathers, and even digestive systems intact. While normally only hard parts like bones and teeth remain in the fossilization process, thanks to special environmental conditions, entire body contours can be preserved without deterioration.

Fern Fossils

Fossils of ancient ferns and giant plants that grew in warm, humid forests around 300 million years ago. Their leaves and stems were preserved in rocks over time. These fossils show what prehistoric forests looked like and helped form many of today’s coal deposits.

Trilobites (Cambrian, Paleozoic)

Trilobites were ancient sea animals that lived more than 500 million years ago. They had hard shells to protect their bodies and lived on the ocean floor. Their bodies were divided into three parts, which is why they are called “trilobites.” They are very common fossils and important because they help scientists learn about life in ancient oceans and how animals have evolved over time.

Ammonites

“Spiral-shelled sea animals from the dinosaur age.” Ammonites were sea animals with spiral shells. They lived at the same time as dinosaurs and are important fossils for studying Earth’s history.

The organism dies, and its remains (usually hard parts like bones, teeth, or shells) are quickly covered with layers of sand, mud, or clay to protect them from scavengers and predators.

Fern Fossils

“Large forests covered the Earth.” Fern fossils are the remains of ancient plants. These plants lived in wet forests millions of years ago. Their leaf patterns are often clearly preserved in rocks.

Sedimentation: The weight and pressure of the accumulating sedimentary layers completely cut off the organism's contact with air. This slows down or stops the decomposition process.

Dinosaurs (Mesozoic)

Dinosaur fossils are the remains or marks left by dinosaurs that lived millions of years ago. Some fossils are parts of the dinosaur’s body, like bones or teeth. Others are traces, such as footprints, skin marks, or fossilized poo called coprolites. These fossils help scientists learn what dinosaurs looked like, how they moved, and how they lived in their environment.

Carbonization (Coalification): This occurs when the remains of plants and small organisms are held under high pressure, causing hydrogen and oxygen gases to escape, leaving behind a layer of carbon.

Ammonites

Ammonites were ancient sea animals related to today’s squids and octopuses. They lived in the oceans during the age of dinosaurs and had a hard, spiral-shaped shell that helped protect them. They swam by moving water through their shell. They are very famous fossils because they are easy to recognize and help scientists date rocks and understand what the oceans were like millions of years ago.

Microfossils (Precambrian)

These are the remains of very tiny living things such as bacteria and algae that lived in ancient oceans billions of years ago. They are so small that they can only be seen with a microscope. Over time, they were buried in mud and turned into stone, preserving their shape. They are important because they show some of the earliest forms of life on Earth and help scientists understand how life began and developed in the oceans.

Microfossils

“Tiny fossils showing ancient microscopic life.” Microfossils are very small fossils that can only be seen with a microscope. They help scientists learn about ancient oceans, climates, and living organisms.

Woolly Mammoths

“Hairy mammals survived the Ice Age.” Woolly mammoths were large animals covered with thick fur. They lived during the Ice Age in cold regions. Their fossils and frozen remains have been discovered in ice and soil.

Tube shapes

• Horn corals commonly have cup shapes. If you can see inside the cup, corals will have grooves or lines radiating out from the axis.
• A type of bryozoan found in limestones has cup shape.
• The calyx of a crinoid has a cup shape. Almost always associated with bead-like crinoid columnal fossils.
• The calyx of a blastoid has a cup shape. Almost always associated with bead-like blastoid columnal fossils (indistinguishable from crinoid columnals).
• A type of trace fossil called Conostichus, often has a cup shape. The bottom of the cup may have a small bulb or protrusion at the base. Sometimes the bulb is 5-sided, which is why this trace fossil is thought to be the resting trace of a sea urchin, a type of echinoderm. These ichnofossils generally are composed of sandstone or siltstone, often devoid of other fossils

Trilobites

“Ancient sea creatures with hard shells.” Trilobites were marine animals that lived in ancient oceans for millions of years. They had hard shells and many body segments. Trilobites became extinct about 250 million years ago.

Body Fossils: These are the hard parts of an organism (bones, teeth, shells, or woody tissues) that have been directly transformed into stone. Bones and Teeth: Remains of dinosaurs or extinct mammals. Shells: Hard outer forms of organisms such as sea snails and ammonites.

Early Marine Invertebrates (Cambrian, Paleozoic)

Simple sea animals such as jellyfish, worms, and other soft-bodied creatures that lived in ancient oceans more than 500 million years ago. They were among the first complex forms of animal life on Earth and helped scientists understand the evolution of marine ecosystems

Mold and Cast Fossils These are three-dimensional copies formed by the replication of an organism and the resulting traces and filling of these formations. Mold (Trace): The type of organism left in the sedimentary layer. Casting: The process of taking these pieces as a single, three-dimensional piece together with minerals.

Small circular fossils (less than a few centimeters in diameter)