Fossil Dig
DetailedAges 8-12
Two children uncovering a large dinosaur skull and bones with brushes at a dig site.
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T-Rex Skeleton Coloring Page
A complete Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton in a museum pose, with ribs, spine and skull picked out clearly.
Print it at home or in the classroom, colour it in, then read the Dinosaur fossils facts underneath to find out more about the animal you have just drawn.
Learn While You Color
How fossils form
When an animal is buried quickly by sand or mud, its soft parts rot away but its bones and teeth can survive. Over a very long time, minerals seep into those bones and harden. What is left is a fossil — rock in the shape of the original bone.
Body fossils and trace fossils
Bones, teeth and eggs are body fossils: parts of the animal itself. Footprints, burrows and skin impressions are trace fossils: marks the animal left behind. Trace fossils are useful because they record what the animal was doing.
Fun facts
- Fossils form when minerals slowly replace buried bone.
- Footprints are trace fossils — they record behaviour, not body parts.
- Palaeontologists record exactly where each fossil was found.
- Teeth fossilise well because they are very hard.
- Most animals never become fossils; it takes unusual conditions.
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Footprint Fossils
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Three-toed dinosaur footprints pressed into rock alongside a fossil leaf and a curled shell.
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An armoured Ankylosaurus walking past boulders and ferns, with plenty of texture to fill in.
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Dinosaur Nest
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A round twig nest holding five patterned eggs, surrounded by ferns — lots of fine detail.
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Feathered Velociraptor
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A Velociraptor drawn with feathers on its arms, body and tail, matching what fossil evidence shows.
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Parasaurolophus and Reeds
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Parasaurolophus standing among tall reeds beside a tree, with lots of small shapes to colour.
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Pterosaur Resting
DetailedAges 8-12
A Pteranodon standing with its wings folded beside two ferns — a rare view of a pterosaur off the wing.
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Spinosaurus by the River
DetailedAges 8-12
Spinosaurus standing in shallow water among reeds, with ripple lines to colour.
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