This activity 'A dinosaur in the yard' introduces the concept that an imprint (trace fossil) is just as much a fossil as the remains of the actual body and can sometimes give very valuable information about the lifestyles of the organisms involved. The animal here is Iguanodon and we know that the height of the hip joint above the ground is approximately four times the length of the hind feet. We can also use the length of the animal's stride to find out whether it was walking, trotting or running.This activity provides useful links between physics, maths and geology.
Monday 5 May 2008
A dinosaur in the yard
This activity 'A dinosaur in the yard' introduces the concept that an imprint (trace fossil) is just as much a fossil as the remains of the actual body and can sometimes give very valuable information about the lifestyles of the organisms involved. The animal here is Iguanodon and we know that the height of the hip joint above the ground is approximately four times the length of the hind feet. We can also use the length of the animal's stride to find out whether it was walking, trotting or running.This activity provides useful links between physics, maths and geology.
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4 comments:
Although it may require a lot of preparation, could this activity be merged with the "meeting of the dinosaurs" activity in some way? Recreating the entirety of Map 3 may be a bit ambitious but Map 1 seems possible. The measurements could be completed first, then the discussion about what is happening. Then Map 2 and 3 could be brought in on paper in the classroom to finish it off.
This is a really good idea Ben - thank you. If you have chance to try it, we should be very pleased to see the results. You can send material to us at info@earthlearningidea.com
I will be trying it late June and would be happy to send on any information about how it turns out.
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