Do you know how living things have changed over time and how we know what they looked like in the past? This box contains fossil remains from millions of years in the past, plush animal toys for comparisons (and cuddles). We’ll also include some triop eggs you can hatch and grow: a type of shrimp, they’re one of the most ancient species on Earth, hardly changed since the Jurassic period 180 million years ago.
Who could use this?
- Year 1 children could use the plush toys to compare and contrast fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals, describing how they identify and group them.
- Year 3 children could use the fossil samples to observe and discuss different kinds of animals and plants, the fossils of which we find in sedimentary rock. They could discuss how fossils are formed.
- Year 6 children could use the resources to discover how animals are adapted to their environments. For example, comparing how some species have adapted over generations to survive in extreme conditions. They might investigate why the triop eggs in the kit can remain dormant for years, and what happens to the eggs when they are put into water.
Curriculum links
Year 1 Science Animals Including Humans
- identify and name a variety of common animals including fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals
- identify and name a variety of common animals that are carnivores, herbivores and omnivores
- describe and compare the structure of a variety of common animals (fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals, including pets)
Year 3 Science: Rocks – describe in simple terms how fossils are formed when things that have lived are trapped within rock
Year 6 Science: Evolution and Inheritance
- recognise that living things have changed over time and that fossils provide information about living things that inhabited the Earth millions of years ago
- recognise that living things produce offspring of the same kind, but normally offspring vary and are not identical to their parents
- Identify how animals and plants are adapted to suit their environment in different ways and that adaptation may lead to evolution.
What’s in the box?
- Plush toys: shark, iguana, beaver, elephant, sloth, otter
- Fossil set
- Triops to hatch and observe
- Books and prompts
Download the complete list of contents here.
Careers links
The Primary Science Teaching Trust has some additional careers links you may like to look at. These are called “A scientist just like me” and introduce children to a diverse range of scientists.
The downloadable power points relevant to this box are evolutionary biologists Dr Kelsey Byers and Telma Laurentino.
