Friday, July 27, 2012

Paleontology Adventure 2

We have had a great week learning all about dinosaurs from dinosaur extremes to dinosaur adaptions.  We even talked about how the dinosaurs became fossils.

Were pterosaurs dinosaurs?


On Monday we talked about dinosaur extremes. We found the biggest, smallest, longest, smartest, and most ferocious (just to name a few) dinosaurs in the museum. We also discussed dinosaur hip structures and learned about the reasons dinosaurs are different from reptiles. Later, we created our own story about what happened to the dinosaurs.



Looking at a sauropod hip.






















Some fossil rubbings


Tuesday, we learned about how fossils form, and we looked at some real fossils in the museum’s hands-on cases! We played a fossil game where we pretended to be animals then drew cards to choose our fate. We learned that animals only sometimes become fossils, and for various reasons such as being eaten by another animal or being washed away by water, many animals do not make it to the fossil stage. Our craft on Friday was fantastic faux fossils. We created 3-D fossils using  various materials to mimic fossilized animals and plants.
 










A stegosaurus displaying his plates.
On Wednesday we discovered the many interesting adaptations that the dinosaurs had. We took a tour of the second floor to view some of the eyes, claws, teeth, spikes, and horns of various dinosaurs. We also had a demonstration on gastroliths (stones swallowed by dinosaurs that helped in the breaking down of their food). There was also a heard of stegosaurs in the museum on Wednesday! We created our own plates and claws using paper products to create a stegosaurus costume.



Look at those claws!


 



 

























Thursday was all about dinosaur tracks. We viewed a set of dinosaur tracks. One of the sauropod tracks stopped and appeared to be surrounded by a group of theropod tracks. In our journals, we recorded what we think happened in the scene. We also used small model dinosaurs and clay to create dinosaur trace fossils.


Looking at the dinosaur tracks left in the Museum!


Making their own dinosaur tracks


How many campers can fit in an Apatosaurus footprint?






The clues to find their own fossil

On Friday, we completed Junior Paleontologist Books for a badge! We also used measurements from various dinosaurs to complete a scavenger hunt and find fossils. At the end of the day, we all took home a cast of an ammonite

Measuring to find their own fossil!


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