Fossil Fun for Kids 2010

Fossil Fun for Kids is a unique, educational and exciting way for schools, community clubs, museums, festivals and fairs to bring the importance of the World Heritage Site and the Jurassic Coast to their public.

I am proud to be on the DepARTure Arts database for schools in Dorset, bringing a 2 hour workshop based on Weymouth, 155 million years ago. This means that I can complete 4 sessions of the workshop each day, usually with 15 children per session.

Each workshop starts with a talk to the children giving an outline of why we were given World Heritage Status and where the Jurassic Coast is. Then we look at Weymouth 155 mya, and I ask them questions such as what was the climate like then, was sea level higher or lower than today. What lived on land, and in the sea. Who ate who, and who were the giants of the seas. I use a map of the continents as they were during the Mesozoic Era and large scale drawings of Ichthyosaurs, Pliosaurs and Plesiosaurs to set the scene of the Jurassic period.

After the talk I show the children how I make the designs in stone, why I take latex moulds from them and how to make the plaster moulds which they will paint later.

I have many different types of Ammonites, Gryphea, Brittle Starfish, the Portland Screw as well as larger ones such as Dapedium, a fossil fish found in Lyme Regis, Velociraptor, Stegosaurus, a Pterosaur and a Crinoid. I also make Trilobites to show the children what lived in the Oceans before the Mesozoic Era.

Once painted they turn into individual works of art which teachers, parents and of course children all love and they gain an insight into geology, history, science and a different type of art, helping them feel a part of our unique Heritage.

My details are all on the DepARTure Arts database portfolio, which should be available to view in your school. My Workshop is aimed at 6-10 year olds, but recently I ran it for the Jurassic Babes, a group of  women, over 50, but still keen to try new things, who were surprised at how much they learnt, and the fun they had learning it.

If you don’t have access to the portfolio my details are as follows. Email enquiries@jurassicMoulds.com or phone 07776 461117 to book the workshop and bring the Jurassic Coast into your classroom.