Where Can I See the Sea?—Grades 5-8
This activity was written by Craig Munsart and Karen Alonzi-Van Gundy. It is posted on the
UCMP Web site as part of an on-line resource book entitled, Learning From the Fossil Record, published by the Paleontological Society. In this activity,
students use fossils to construct a map showing different
environments that existed 70 million years ago.
Climate Analysis Using Planktonic
Foraminifera—Grades 6-8
This activity was written by Hillary Clement Olson. It is posted on the
UCMP Web site as part of an on-line resource book entitled, Learning From the Fossil Record, published by the Paleontological Society.
In this activity, students use single-celled organisms called foraminifera (forams for short) to
learn how climate has changed drastically throughout geologic time.
Inferring Ancient Environments
From Fossil Foraminifera—Grade 6-8
This is another activity written by Hillary Clement Olson and from the source noted above.
In this activity, students use real fossil foram data to interpret the water-depth of
a particular area of California during the Miocene. There is a direct application of this knowledge to finding potential
oil reservoir rocks and source rocks.
Dino Facts—Grades 6-8
This activity was written by Judy Scotchmoor and is based on the research of Jack Horner in Montana. It can be found on the
Learning From the Fossil Record site, described above. In this activity, students learn how fossils can be used as indirect evidence of behavior. They analyze fossil evidence gathered by
paleontologists, then develop and support their own hypotheses about dinosaur behavior based upon the Dino Facts.