Table of Contents Welcome .............................................................................................................. 03 Science of Dinosaurs ....................................................................................... 04 How Fossils are Formed ................................................................................. 05 The Cornell Lab of Ornithology Are Birds Really Dinosaurs? ...... 06-09 Activity 1: Be a Paleontologist! ..................................................................... 10 Activity 2: My Sediments Exactly ........................................................... 11-12 Activity 3: Titanosauria Size Exercise ................................................... 13-15 Animal Spotlight: Pteranodon ................................................................ 16-17 Fun Facts ....................................................................................................... 18-19 2 Welcome to the Dinosaur STEM Learning Activity Pack Thank you for purchasing the Dinosaur STEM Learning Activity Pack. We hope that these specifically selected activities will provide an engaging, hands-on experience that helps your student discover more about Dinosaurs. The STEM Learning Activity Pack program invites children to explore science in engaging and fun activities while using critical thinking and problem solving skills. STEM is more than the sum of Science, Technology, Engineering and Math; it is an approach to learning that focuses on real-world problem-solving using an inquiry-based methodology and all of the problem-solving tools you have at your disposal. STEM problem-solving tools include multifaceted collaboration, creativity, coding, digital agility, media literacy, critical thinking, global citizenship, and dynamic communication. Whether you call it STEM, STEAM, STREAM or something else — this conversation is about the skills we need today (and for the future!) in order to function effectively and thrive as workers, family members and citizens.* We hope you enjoy your adventure! —The North Museum Education Team *Courtesy of the Lancaster STEM Alliance 3 Science of Dinosaurs Introduction to the theme 2020 Curriculum Outline Overview The Dinosaurs STEM Learning lesson provides resources,information and activities about the topic. The content invites children to explore this big idea: What can fossils tell us about the past? While exploring this idea, students will: • Explore the Mesozoic Era, commonly referred to as the Middle Life era among Paleontologists. This time frame spanned a 180 million years and many of the common Dinosaurs we are familiar with come from this Era. • Discover similar characteristics between birds and dinosaurs. We’ll learn what clues we can derive from different dinosaurs and explore how paleontologists uncover clues within the earth. • Learn about the famous Archaeopteryx fossil that was a monumental discovery in Germany in the 1860s and that a cast of this important fossil is on display at the North Museum! This important fossil was a game changer back in the day. Why? You’ll find out! In this STEM DINO LEARNING LESSON you’ll find activities that dive into Geological timelines, learn about the newly discovered giant Titanosaur and fossil information. Each activity is designed for engaging learning. Feel free to extend the activities your students are enjoying most and condense others. Most importantly…have fun! 4 How Fossils are Formed 1. An animal or plant dies in a wet environment (such as a riverbank). 2. The animal’s body or plant leaves are covered in mud. Soft tissues or organs decompose or are eaten by other living things. The hard parts are left behind (bones, teeth, claws, scales, beaks, etc). 3. As time passes, sediment hardens into rock, layering on top of the animal or plant parts. The bones or shells decay into minerals, joining the rock. What can fossils tell us about the animals that left them? Words to know: • Carnivore: an animals that eats only meat. • Herbivore: an animal that eats only plants • Omnivore: an animal that eats both meat and plants. • Fossil: any evidence of life from geologic past. • Imprint: a mark or pattern caused by applying pressure. Paleontologists are like detectives who have very few clues to create a hypothesis’ from. However, fossils provide great evidence to support many theories. Science is always discovering new evidence of lift that tell us different stories. Because of these new discoveries sometimes theories change. The term hypothesis means: In science, a hypothesis is an idea or explanation that you then test through study and experimentation. Outside science, a theory or guess can also be called a hypothesis. A hypothesis is something more than a wild guess but less than a well-established theory. 5 The Cornell Lab of Ornithology Are Birds Really Dinosaurs? These are baby Great Blue Herons. They look a bit like little dinosaurs, don’t they? That’s because birds are the modern descendants of dinosaurs— and it really shows! Dinosaurs were reptiles that lived millions of years ago. Birds have a lot in common with both dinosaurs and today’s reptiles. If you look closely at a bird’s foot (right), you’ll notice that it has scales. A bird’s feathers are made up of the same material as reptile and dinosaur scales. Like dinosaurs and reptiles, birds also lay eggs. If you could look inside a bird, you would find that their internal anatomy, their muscles, brain, heart, lungs, and joints—is very similar to that of reptiles. Great Blue Heron chick From the fossil record, we know that birds evolved from dinosaurs, some of which had feathers. But unlike modern birds, those first feathers had nothing to do with flight; instead, they likely helped dinosaurs show off, hide, and/or stay warm. By studying modern feathers and fossilized traces of ancient feathers, scientists recently developed a hypothesis to explain how complex flight feathers could have evolved. They probably began as simple tufts, called dino fuzz. Over time, this fuzz evolved into more complex feathers that helped with flight. The first major clue was Archaeopteryx (below), unearthed in Germany in 1860. This famous specimen is from a bird-like dinosaur that lived 150 million years ago. It contains impressions of feathers that look like those of modern birds. 6 When you look at the Archaeopteryx fossil what hypothesis do you have? What questions do do you want answered? This exciting fossil has caused many conversations about dinosaurs and the Archeopteryx fossil is on display at the North Museum of Nature and Science in the Explore the Past exhibit. Archeopteryx fossil 7 Review the following Geological Timeline thoroughly and look closely at the Fossil Sorting Guide. 8 9 Activity 1 Be a Paleontologist! Use the Geological Timeline and Fossil Sorting Guide to answer these questions. 1. Within the Mesozoic Era, which Period was the Archaeopteryx in activity using the Geological timeline? Refer back to the “Are Birds Really Dinosaurs” for guidance. 2. Looking at the Fossil Sorting Guide , which fossil was in the same Period as the Archaeopteryx? 3. Most dinosaurs we know came from the end of the Cretaceous period. But dinosaurs probably lived in great numbers in all three periods of dinosaur time: Jurassic, Triassic and Cretaceous. What Era do these fall under? 4. On the Fossil Sorting Guide, which one is the Pennsylvania State fossil... Hint; it’s relatives are crabby! 5. Look closely at the Fossil Sorting Guide. Do any of these fossils look familiar to you? Some of these came from animals that still exist today, which ones do you think, just by looking at the images? 6. Looking at the Fossil Sorting Guide and using the Geological Timeline, which fossil from the Fossil Sorting Guide is between the Devonian and Cretaceous periods? (Answers: 1. Jurassic, 2. Ammonite, 3. Mesozoic Era, 4. Trilobite, 5. Brachiopod,Coral and Clam, 6. Ammonite, Jurassic ) Jurassic Ammonite, 6. Clam, and Brachiopod,Coral 5. Trilobite, 4. Era, Mesozoic 3. Ammonite, 2. Jurassic, 1. (Answers: 10 Activity 2 My Sediments Exactly Did you know that the history of life on Earth is told through rocks? Over millions of years, sediments such as sand and silt were laid down and compressed to form sedimentary rock layers. They preserve a record of ancient landscapes, climates, and organisms. Scientists often determine the correct sequence of sedimentary rock layers using the fossils found within them. They compare the fossils to fi gure out if two layers are from the same geologic time period, or if one layer is older than the other. Directions: 1. Cut out the five strips of paper on the next page. Each strip represents a sedimentary rock layer formed during a certain time period. 2. Put the layers in correct order Begin by placing B, the “oldest layer,” on the bottom. Then decide which layer comes next. It will have some of the same organisms as the older layer and some new ones. (Hint: Organisms do not disappear for a layer and then reappear.) Place it above. Continue until the layers are in order, with the youngest at the top. Check your answers and write the time period on each layer. EXPLORE MORE! Look at the fossils within each layer. What plants and animals lived during the same time period? Then compare the layers to explore the changing Dinosaur fossils have been plant and animal groups throughout Earth’s discovered on history. Which organisms survived from one time every continent, period to the next? Which ones went extinct? even Antarctica. Could Tarbosaurus