Re: Dinosaur classroom activities

["Donald Phillips (ss)" <dphillip@duke.poly.edu>]

Dear Mr. Miller:

        There is a group in N.Y.C. that call themselves the "Young
Paleontologists" - a group of primary & secondary school teachers trying
to work out new ways to teach kids about their favorite avocation. 

        One idea they told me about was this. Kids love dinos, as you
know. Take some oak tag - trace out (& color in if you want) footprints of
a dino (they used Apatosaurus). Find a large open area (parking lot, gym,
etc.) and have the kids lay down a trackway with the correct spacing of
the tracks - I was told the kids really were impressed to see how big
these creatures were. It's even more impressive in an enclosed space like
a gym. All you need is a marker pen, oak tag (or any big paper), drawings
of the tracks as a model, and measurements of the gait, etc. 

        I was told the kids loved it.

Donald Phillips
N.Y. Paleontological Society



On Wed, 11 Mar 1998, Gigi Babcock or Ralph Miller III wrote:

> I am going to be leading 25-minute workshops on dinosaurs for 1st and 2nd
> grade children at the local elementary school (that's about from ages 6 to
> 8 years old).  I am seeking out plans for educational activities,
> demonstrations, and projects that are quick, easy, cheap, and fascinating
> to young children with short attention spans.  The projects should
> emphasize hands-on activities for the children and projects that can be
> taken home without any waiting.
> 
> I have found some good ideas by performing a web search on "Dinosaurs in
> the classroom," and have plans of my own, but would welcome any ideas you
> might have.  You may respond off-list, unless you think that other people
> on the list would be interested in reading your idea.  And no, I'm not
> getting paid for this.
> 
> Ralph Miller III <gbabcock@best.com>
> 
> _Sinosauropteryx_ petting zoo?  Nah...
> 
>   
>