Paleontology Rocks!

Day 1

On Monday, we introduced geologic time and the formation of fossils! In one activity, campers put various geologic events in order, to gain perspective on how recently mammals and humans appeared! They then compared different timelines to each other.

We also made a geologic time spiral craft that they can take home and hang to see a more abbreviated timeline.

Campers then learned about Pangea and the reason similar fossils are found in different places.

Finally, campers put together a fossil formation demonstration using bread and gummy worms smashed together with heavy books. They will go back to it tomorrow to extract core samples from within.

Day 2

Today, campers learned more about fossils and saw some up close! They got a look into our hands-on drawer and saw some awesome stuff!

Campers also learned about amber and its ability to easily preserve things. They then polished their own amber rocks, which they took home with them.

Later, campers learned about some commonly found fossils, and painted casts of them.

They also looked back at their fossil formation demo they made the day before to see how pressure affects things buried under ground.

Day 3

Today, campers learned about the creatures that lived before the dinosaurs. They saw pictures and fossils of trilobites, then made their own trilobite masks!

 

Older campers then made a trilobite model, which required some intricate folding!

Campers also went on a prehistoric life scavenger hunt on our 2nd floor, searching for animals A-Z.

Day 4

Today, we focused on everyone's favorite: dinosaurs!! Campers chose a dinosaur to color and put together! Some campers chose to give their dinos more dimension by taping them to toilet paper tubes, while others added brads to make them move!

Campers also played an extinction board game, where they had to protect their species from disappearing!

We also spent time in the planetarium to watch a movie about how the dinosaurs died, which campers loved!

Day 5

Today, campers learned all about the animals that lived after the dinosaurs. They played in our dig box and excavated Ice Age animals they then created dioramas for!

Some campers played a memory game to better learn their Ice Age animals!

Campers then toured our Bristle Mammoth exhibit, seeing the mammoth's skull and ribs. The exhibit also shows how huge the mammoth was alive, and hypothesizes the human interaction that mammoth probably had. Campers then looked more closely at the environment in which they lived. Some looked into stereoscopes to see mammoth hair.

Thanks for another fun week at camp! We hope campers had as much fun as we did!