Here's one recipe for making great fossils!

1. Find a dead plant or animal.
2. Bury the body quickly in mud or fine sand, so it won't be damaged by scavengers.
3. Water helps - it can carry tons of sand and mud; most fossils actually form underwater.
4. Keep piling on the sand and mud until they start compressing into solid rock.
5. Let water seep in. The same minerals that make the water "hard" will help preserve the fossil, too.
6. Over time (thousands or millions of years) rock-hard minerals will replace the fossil's original tissue.
7. Millions of years later - dig it up and have a look!

Go ahead and print out this recipe!