What Are Fossils?

Fossils are like treasure maps from a long, long time ago! When animals and plants die, sometimes they leave a little part of themselves behind, like their bones or leaves.

Over a very, very long time, these parts get covered by dirt. Then, the dirt turns into rock! This rock is called a fossil.

So when we find fossils, it's like finding a clue to what the Earth was like a long time ago. Fossils help us learn about dinosaurs or giant trees that lived before we were born!

Isn't that cool? We can look at fossils and imagine what those animals and plants looked like! They are nature's way of telling us stories from the past.