2nd – Fossil Paleontology

As part of their unit on dinosaurs and fossils, students cast a miniature set of 18 Triceratops “bones.”  They used a material called Perfect Cast- like plaster, but stronger.  Once the bones were removed from the mold, they were allowed to dry.

The following week, students first had to remove any extra matrix using sandpaper.  They then had to organize the bones as they would have been in the live dinosaur.  This entailed a discussion about skeletal anatomy, working outwards from the spine.  Then, once the correct structure was determined for the pelvis and legs, the bones were mounted.

If your student wants more, additional skeletons- T-Rex, Velociraptor, and Stegosaurus are sold by Skullduggery.

http://tinyurl.com/SkullDuggery-Kits

They also sell kits to cast dinosaur teeth and claws!

An excellent field trip is an excursion to Aurora, NC.  It’s about 2.5 hours away from Raleigh, relatively close to New Bern.  The fossil museum there is small but excellent.    And they have a giant pile of “fossil dirt,” like students brought home a few weeks ago, out front where you can dig to your heart’s content.