Fossils

Hello! I have a secret. For a very, very long time, I sleep deep inside the earth, tucked into layers of mud and rock. I am very still and very quiet. Sometimes I am shaped like a beautiful swirly shell, sometimes like a funny flat leaf, and sometimes I am a giant, bumpy bone. I am as hard as a rock, but I hold a story from long, long ago. I waited and waited for someone to find me. Can you guess what I am? I am a Fossil.

For ages and ages, I just waited under the ground. Then, people started finding me. At first, they thought I was just a funny-looking rock. But then, smart and curious people looked closer. Way back in the year 1811, a brave girl named Mary Anning loved to search for treasures on the beach. One day, she found one of my very big friends—the skeleton of a giant sea creature. It was so big. People were so excited. They realized I was not just a rock; I was a clue to a secret world from before people were even around. They started looking for more of me everywhere, in big cliffs, sandy deserts, and even in their own backyards.

Today, I help you imagine amazing things. I am a storyteller made of stone. I tell you about the incredible dinosaurs that stomped and roared, and the giant ferns they used to eat. I show you what tiny sea creatures looked like millions of years ago. Every time someone finds a piece of me, it is like finding a word in a storybook about our amazing planet. So keep exploring, keep digging, and keep wondering, because there are still so many of my stories waiting to be found and told to you.