Well, my fellow paleontologists, it is time to get back to work. This week we will talk about the scientific theories of how the dinosaurs died out or disappeared. Then we will head to the playground for our own "bone dig."

The children will learn first-hand how to cast a bone in the field before shipping it back to the museum. Scientists did this because the centuries-old bone fossils could break or crumble in route, but the cast would duplicate the details of the fossil so the scientists could study it without danger of harming the original bone. The children's "fossil" casts should be ready to bring home next week. We also discuss how paleontologists love a good puzzle and love to piece the fossils together to discover the animal's characteristics. We encourage the children to play with puzzles to discover this skill.

For snack we will have a dinosaur-snack excavation--digging them out of our brownies!


Books We Read: Dinosaurs (Gail Gibbons); Archaeologists Dig for Clues (Kate Duke)

Next Week: Geology--You can bring a favorite rock to share with the class--nothing too valuable, please!!