It's...

...a dinosaur coprolite.

What's a coprolite, you ask. A coprolite is fossilized dung. That's right. Dinosaur (in this case) poop that's been turned into rock through the fossilization process.

If that doesn't get the attention of your students - don't tell them until after they've passed it around, felt it, looked at it, etc - I don't know what will!


By the way, I've been told that my coprolite comes from a meat eating dinosaur - that apparently one can identify bits of bone within the fossil. I am not one of those people who can make that identification... I'm just passing along what I've been told.