Fossil Finders
Lisle Junior High’s seventh grade scientists spent Friday, November 20th video-conferencing with scientists in Ithaca, New York, as Dr. Rob Ross and Trish Smrecak of Paleontological Research Institution / Museum of the Earth and Dan Capps, geologist and doctoral student at Cornell University were virtual guests in Room 4.
Previous to the video-conference, students learned about geologic time and other paleontology-related concepts. They also participated in an authentic scientific investigation: teams of students collected data (fossil identification, measurement, rock color and fragmentation) on their sub-samples and used the Fossil Finders database to pull graphs that would help them answer the question “How does sea life respond to changes in the environment?”
Teachers from around the country are participating in the Fossil Findersprofessional development program, so our students were not only able to access their own data, but other classes’ data as well, giving them a fuller idea of what life in the Devonian Sea was like.
During the video-conference, students showed Museum of the Earth’s paleontologists their graphs and explained the inferences they had made using those graphs. Rob, Trish and Dan gave the students tips on their research and fielded questions about their careers. The seventh grade science classes would like to thank Rob, Trish and Dan for spending hours of their busy day talking with us!
www.museumoftheearth.org
www.fossilfinders.org
