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National Geographic Science Chapters: Mysteries of the Fossil Dig: How Paleontologists Learn About Dinosaurs
An on-location lesson in museums and dinosaur digs shows how paleontologists perform their fascinating unearthing of the past. National Geographic supports K-12 educators with ELA Common Core Resources. Visit www.natgeoed.org/commoncore for more information.
- GenresScience
48 pages, Library Binding
First published September 12, 2006
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
March 31, 2017
This compact little gem begins with Sue Hendrickson’s discovery of a T-Rex skeleton in South Dakota in 1990. Young readers will thrill to the exciting discovery of the dinosaur named Sue and pour through the book to learn more!
Dinosaurs thrived on Earth during the Mesozoic era, which lasted 183 million years. Although Hollywood might argue otherwise, humans and dinosaurs never met and paleontologists do their level best to become dinosaur detectives, determining what these creatures might have looked like when the world was young. Ms. Rushby outlines some of the many ways in which paleontologists glean essential facts from the remains of plants and animals which lived in the past. Fossilization itself is a bit of an accident of nature and fossils have been found in some very remote locations, often by sheer happenstance.
When a fossilized dinosaur is discovered, unearthing the creature from the hard rock becomes a tricky endeavor. First, the area must be staked out into a grid, so that the exact location of each and every bone may be recorded accurately. Next, picks and shovels are used to move soil out of the way. As the paleontologists get closer to the bones themselves, they must often resort to dental picks and brushes to prevent injuring the fossils.
Fossils are extremely fragile. Once the bones have been excavated enough, cloth soaked in plaster of Paris is applied, forming a cast around the bones and preventing damage in shipment to a museum. Once in the museum, the real work of cleaning the bones begins. Using a weak acid to dissolve the rock, dental tools and tiny drills, the museum staff slowly chip away at the rock remaining around the bones, revealing the perfection of the dino skeleton itself.
If the skeleton is of an exciting new species, putting the skeleton back together again can become a real challenge. Paleontologists compare and contrast the bones of other skeletons recently discovered in the area to obtain some clues about how the creature might have appeared in life. Once this has been determined, casts of the real bones are assembled for museum display, while the genuine skeleton is kept in the bowels of the museum, under appropriate heat and humidity for the preservation of each important find.
There are hundreds and hundreds of fossils still awaiting discovery. Ms. Rushby leaves young readers with the tantalizing image of possibly discovering one of their own fossils some day. It fires the imagination!
Dinosaurs thrived on Earth during the Mesozoic era, which lasted 183 million years. Although Hollywood might argue otherwise, humans and dinosaurs never met and paleontologists do their level best to become dinosaur detectives, determining what these creatures might have looked like when the world was young. Ms. Rushby outlines some of the many ways in which paleontologists glean essential facts from the remains of plants and animals which lived in the past. Fossilization itself is a bit of an accident of nature and fossils have been found in some very remote locations, often by sheer happenstance.
When a fossilized dinosaur is discovered, unearthing the creature from the hard rock becomes a tricky endeavor. First, the area must be staked out into a grid, so that the exact location of each and every bone may be recorded accurately. Next, picks and shovels are used to move soil out of the way. As the paleontologists get closer to the bones themselves, they must often resort to dental picks and brushes to prevent injuring the fossils.
Fossils are extremely fragile. Once the bones have been excavated enough, cloth soaked in plaster of Paris is applied, forming a cast around the bones and preventing damage in shipment to a museum. Once in the museum, the real work of cleaning the bones begins. Using a weak acid to dissolve the rock, dental tools and tiny drills, the museum staff slowly chip away at the rock remaining around the bones, revealing the perfection of the dino skeleton itself.
If the skeleton is of an exciting new species, putting the skeleton back together again can become a real challenge. Paleontologists compare and contrast the bones of other skeletons recently discovered in the area to obtain some clues about how the creature might have appeared in life. Once this has been determined, casts of the real bones are assembled for museum display, while the genuine skeleton is kept in the bowels of the museum, under appropriate heat and humidity for the preservation of each important find.
There are hundreds and hundreds of fossils still awaiting discovery. Ms. Rushby leaves young readers with the tantalizing image of possibly discovering one of their own fossils some day. It fires the imagination!
July 29, 2009
Very informative National Geographic book about fossils. This is a chapter book that explains a lot of vocabulary associated with fossils and dinosaurs. Great book for kids (and adults) who want to learn more about fossils.
August 15, 2018
A slight chapter book (with lots of photos) appropriate for third graders or kids with great interest in paleontology and/or fossils. Goes into detail about how paleontologists do their jobs.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews