Mary Anning comes to visit and Barn Owls make fossils: October 12th

Today Mary Anning came to visit Barn Owl class! We heard all about how and why Mary collected fossils. She lived in Lyme Regis in Victorian times and, after developing an interest in fossils, she became extremely skilful in finding them and started to sell them to make money. She was uneducated and from a very poor family but became an expert.

The process of fossilisation was explained in simple terms; in prehistoric times, when animals died in areas where there was mud or sand, their bodies were buried and the sediment around them was compressed to form rock. This explains why fossils are found in sedimentary rock. 

Over time the skeletons in the rock disintegrated and disappeared because water was flowing through them dissolving them. The space left by the skeleton acted like a mould and became filled with water and mineral crystals which, in turn, turned into rock.with an exact imprint of the original animal.

Over many years the rock became exposed to the air and then eroded so that the fossils could be discovered. 

All the children in the class made their own fossils using shells and plaster of paris. We are going to be sharing them with parents and carers next Thursday October 19th - look out for your invitation!

Thank you to Jack and Maisie for taking photographs.