UKS2 Topic: Dinosaurs & Fossils Block E: Ice Age Fossils Session 4

Making Mammoth Tusks

What you will need:

 2 old coathangers  Pliers (optional)  Newspaper  Sticky tape  Scissors  Plaster roll  Water

What you need to do:

1. Bend the coathangers until they are long and thin. You might need to use pliers to make sure they are thin enough.

2. Wrap them both in newspaper secured with sticky tape. Scrunch the newspaper much tighter towards the thinnest end where the coathanger's hook was. These will be the points of the tusks.

3. Cut two rolls of plaster roll into 20cm lengths, with a few 10cm ones for the points of the tusks. Wet each one and then wrap round the newspaper.

© Original resource copyright Hamilton Trust, who give permission for it to be adapted as wished by individual users. We refer you to our warning, at the foot of the block overview, about links to other websites. UKS2 Topic: Dinosaurs & Fossils Block E: Ice Age Fossils Session 4

4. Smooth over the plaster roll with wet fingers to fill in all the holes and make it look solid.

5. Remember to wrap the plaster roll more tightly at the points of the tusks.

6. Wrap another layer of plaster roll over each tusk if you have enough. Leave them both to dry.

These tusks are only about 0.8 metres long. Fully grown mammoths could grow tusks up to 2.8 metres long and they were much more curly than these. Can you make some that are long and curly?

Making Giant Deer Antlers

What you will need:

 A large box  A felt-tip pen  Scissors

1. Open out the large box.

2. Draw one or both sets of antlers onto the open box with the felt-tip pen and then cut them out. Here we have left them joined together so they can be held or hung up more easily.

3. These antlers are probably only 1.5 metres across. The giant deer had antlers up to 3.5 metres across. Can you make some that big?

Making an Ammonite

What you will need:

 Air-drying clay  A rolling pin  Plastic modelling tools

1. Roll the clay into a flat circle with the rolling pin.

2. Using a plastic tool with a pointy end, draw a spiral, starting from the middle of the circle and spiralling outwards.

3. Decorate the surface with ridges using a plastic tool with a rounded end.

4. Cut away the clay around the outside of your ammonite. You could leave spikes coming out around the edge or just leave it smooth.

5. You could decorate your ammonite with pointy or wiggly lines.

An Example Silhouette

© Original resource copyright Hamilton Trust, who give permission for it to be adapted as wished by individual users. We refer you to our warning, at the foot of the block overview, about links to other websites.