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Fossils > Unit Outline
Activity 9
Follow a Fossil
Students learn about the entire process of fossil preservation from
field work to the museum display.
This activity is
available from the Denver Museum of Nature and Science
http://www.dmns.org/main/minisites/fossil/index.html
Activity available in PDF format
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Unit:
Fossils in Time
Guiding Questions:
What are the main
steps of fossil collection?
Critical Content:
Fossil collection
includes prospecting, excavation, preparation, curation,
research, and exhibiting.
Grades: 6-8
Duration:
60
minutes
Group size:
individuals or
groups depending on computer availability
Setting: classroom
with Internet access
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Background: Many museums support
paleontology expeditions and fossil research. The
paleontologist who discovered the hadrosaur print in Aniakchak
National Monument, Tony Fiorillo, works for the Dallas Museum of
Nature and Science. The Denver Museum of Nature and Science
describes the process of finding new fossils and exhibiting them in
a museum.
Materials:
Internet access
Vocabulary:
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Fossil
Vertebrate
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Invertebrate
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Paleontology
Prospecting
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Excavation
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Preparation
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Curation
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Research
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Exhibiting
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Procedures:
1. Assign
students into three groups: vertebrates, invertebrates and plants
2. Have
students go to the Denver Museum of Nature and Science's
Follow a Fossil website
3. Students
will read about hunting vertebrate, invertebrate, and plant fossils
depending on their group assignment. Students may read the
pages alone or in groups.
4. As a class, review the
Discussion Questions.
Discussion Questions:
1.
What are the six steps of fossil hunting described by the Denver
Museum of Nature and Science?
2.
What do paleontologists do in each step and where do they do it: in
the field or in the museum?
3.
How do the steps differ for vertebrates, invertebrates and plants?
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