by: Norman Barstow
Archeology is the study of society through the discovery, recovery and analysis of the material culture and environmental data that humans have left behind. The data can include artifacts, architecture, and cultural landscapes.
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Earth Science, Elementary level, Middle School level | Tagged: archeology, fossil dig, fossils, homeschool, paleontology, parent friendly | 
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Posted by Tami O'Connor
by: Michelle Bertke
Both the young and old have a special fascination with dinosaurs. From the small Nemicolopterus to the larger Sauroposeidon, dinosaurs were magnificent and majestic creatures. This is a topic students want to learn and adults want to teach. Luckily, there are many at-home experiments and activities that parents can do to foster their children’s love for dinosaurs.
Impression fossils are one way that animals and plants, which are long since gone from this world, leave their mark. One easy way to show how imprint fossils are formed is with play dough and plastic creatures. Students can use the play dough (which is easily homemade) as a medium in which to press the plastic creatures. This will leave an impression with a certain amount of detail. Have the students compare the fossil imprint with their creature or mix up the imprints and play a matching game. Use this activity to illustrate what can be determined from an imprint fossil (size or texture) and what cannot be determined (color).
Leave a Comment » | Earth Science, Elementary level | Tagged: dinosaur dig, fossils, hands-on activity, homeschool, layers of the earth, molds, parent friendly | Permalink
Posted by Tami O'Connor
by: Sara Brandt
Ammonite was once thought to be the petrified remains of snakes! Modern science, however, tells us that these fascinating fossils are actually the remains of an ancient aquatic mollusk. A mollusk is an invertebrate with a soft, unsegmented body. The soft body of an ammonite was protected by a hard outer shell. The shells of ammonites ranged from an inch to nine feet! Each shell is divided into many different chambers. The walls of each chamber are called septa. The septa were penetrated by the ammonite’s siphuncle, a tube-like structure that allowed the ammonite to control the air pressure inside its shell. Ammonites were aquatic creatures, and being able to control the air pressure inside their shells meant being able to control their buoyancy.
2 Comments | Biology, College level, Earth Science, Elementary level, experiments, High School level, Middle School level | Tagged: ammonite, Fibonacci, fossils, golden ratio, nature | Permalink
Posted by Tami O'Connor
