Question
Hello Mike,
I live in MO.  
My 6 yr old niece brought me some seeds and wanted me to see if I could grow them for her.  I told her I would try, but the seeds looked pretty dry to me and I didn't know if this mattered or not.  They are small and some are round and some are flat and are brownish in color.  I figure they are some kind of flower seed.  
There were alot of seeds so I put some in a pot with good black dirt and light manure mixture (we have horses so I can get all the poo I need free), watered it and set the pot out in the sun.  Nothing happened.
I then took some of the remaining seeds and put them on a wet paper towel and put the paper towel in a Zip-Loc baggie and put that in the sun to see if the seeds would start growing that way;  Nothing from that either.  
Could the seeds just be too dry to grow?  
Thanks for your imput,
Kim

Answer
Kim, they may be too dry or too old. You did the right thing by placing them in a paper towel and plastic bag.

I keep seeds for up to five years by storing them in a plastic bag secured in the back of the refrigerator. As they age, the germination rate drops dramatically. I will then place 10-20 seeds in a damp paper towel that I fold and place in a tupperware container. If after 21 days less than 80% of the seeds germinate, I discard them and purchase new seeds. In your case, it's obvious that the seeds are no longer viable.

Have a great holiday weekend.

Mike