General information on summer dinosaur dig opportunities through Dinosaur Journey, on of …
General information on summer dinosaur dig opportunities through Dinosaur Journey, on of the Museums of Western Colorado. Visit the Dinosaur Digs and Expeditions website to learn more: https://www.museumofwesternco.com/things-to-do/dino-digs/
Trail Guide for hiking trail near where important fossil finds occured in …
Trail Guide for hiking trail near where important fossil finds occured in Western Colorado. When visiting these trails it is important to visit with respect by staying on the trail and leaving fossils where you find them. These fossils and tracks are protected under the Paleontological Resources Preservation Act (PRPA) of 2009. The act prohibits an attempt to excavate, remove, damage, or otherwise alter or deface any paleontological resources located on Federal land. In order to collect any fossils (plants, invertebrates, vertebrates) at these sites, a proper permit must be obtained. If you are interested in excavating fossils with our scientists at Dinosaur Journey, check out our Dinosaur Digs and Expeditions! https://museumofwesternco.com/things-to-do/dino-digs/
Dinosaur Journey is part of the Mueums of Western Colorado. This short …
Dinosaur Journey is part of the Mueums of Western Colorado. This short documentary tells the story of dinosaurs in the Grand Valley, their history, discovery, excavation and research. Watch and find out what dinosaurs can be found on the Wester Slope of Colorado.
In preparation for this assignment, students have read a brief section in …
In preparation for this assignment, students have read a brief section in their textbook on the fossilization process as it relates to dinosaurs. In addition they will have had one lecture on taphonomy that briefly covers the processes that transpire from the death of a dinosaur until its discovery by a paleontologist. Students work in groups. Each group is given a quarry map of a dinosaur locality and no other information. The exercise is framed as detecive work, where the "scene of the crime" is represented by the quarry map. The objective is to gather clues to make an informed intepretation. Students can obtain additional clues, but to do so, they must formulate a hypothesis that can be tested by the information they seek. However, they only get to formulate 10 hypotheses. An untestable hypothesis wastes a potential clue. Once students have gathered all their clues, they are encouraged to discuss the significance. Students write up their own interpretation and its limitations individually. The exercise gives students practice with taphonomic data and both its potential and limitations; hypothesis formulation; and examining differing viewpoints as group discussions often lead to debates about what information would be most important.
This activity engages students with the concept of Direct Air Capture. Students …
This activity engages students with the concept of Direct Air Capture. Students watch an engaging film, participate in a reading and writing activity, and then model carbon dioxide adsorption/desorption in an exciting lab.
In this quantitative field activity, students collect field data on channel geometry, …
In this quantitative field activity, students collect field data on channel geometry, flow velocity, and bed materials. Using these data, they apply flow resistance equations and sediment transport relations to estimate the bankfull discharge and to determine if the flow is sufficient to mobilize the bed.
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This is a student-centered activity for a synchronous online course where students …
This is a student-centered activity for a synchronous online course where students access google slides to complete during a video conferencing session (eg. Zoom) in break out rooms. Students will be introduced to plate tectonics through a series of scaffolded mini activities which includes: active learning jigsaws, group research and presentations, and assessments. Students will familiarize themselves with types of plate boundaries as well as features found at plate boundaries using the Jules Verne Voyager Jr. website, and will use GPS data to visualize direction and speed of plate motion. Additional activities suggested include using Google Earth to visualize plate boundaries, drawing a transect across a plate boundary, and calculating the rate of plate motion using the Hawaiian Islands.
(Note: this resource was added to OER Commons as part of a batch upload of over 2,200 records. If you notice an issue with the quality of the metadata, please let us know by using the 'report' button and we will flag it for consideration.)
This unit provides pre-service teachers in methods courses with resources for teaching …
This unit provides pre-service teachers in methods courses with resources for teaching geoscience content and utilizing the methods of geoscience. Pre-service teachers will prepare an annotated bibliography of instructional resources in the areas of geology, meteorology/climatology, oceanography, and astronomy. They will select one of these resources and prepare a full lesson plan based on the resource that emphasizes the methods of geoscience and also incorporates interdisciplinary material from either biology, chemistry, physics, or the social sciences.
Clues from the Landscape Social Studies Lesson 2 Discovering Public Lands as …
Clues from the Landscape Social Studies Lesson 2 Discovering Public Lands as Living Museums is designed to be used with Clues from the Landscape Artifact Kit. Lessons 1, 2 and 4 can be completed without the artifacts from the kit. These kits are available through Musuems of Western Colorado to D51 Teachers. This lesson can be adapted to use without the kit. Students will be able to: • Conduct analysis of different types of maps • Discuss the difficulties faced by homesteaders moving across the state • Describe how homesteaders modified the land around them • Explain why it is important to preserve historic sites • Find information from primary sources including documents, and newspaper articles about life as a homesteader
This is an investigation where students observe what happens to land after …
This is an investigation where students observe what happens to land after it is mined. Students will create a hypothesis, observe their model, conclude what happens to land after it is mined, and discover the role humans play in land conservation.
In this in-class activity, students are challenged to identify rock units and …
In this in-class activity, students are challenged to identify rock units and geologic features and determine the relative ages of these features without prior instruction in the classical methods of relative age determination.
(Note: this resource was added to OER Commons as part of a batch upload of over 2,200 records. If you notice an issue with the quality of the metadata, please let us know by using the 'report' button and we will flag it for consideration.)
This activity sheet for young children is designed to be completed during …
This activity sheet for young children is designed to be completed during a visit to the Museum's Hall of Planet Earth. The printable two-page handout includes notes on the rough terrain found on the ocean floors, a hall map that directs kids to seven numbered areas with observation activities, a hall-wide writing and drawing activity for the rocks on display and a collection of fun facts.
I find that when assigning lengthy readings for in-class discussion, it is …
I find that when assigning lengthy readings for in-class discussion, it is extremely helpful to guide students' preparation with specific questions, and incorporate these in worksheets that explicitly call for students to write out their responses before entering the classroom. These worksheets can provide some added structure for whole-class discussion, or can provide a specific agenda for review of the readings in small groups. Because these readings are more than a few years old, I have also found it useful to assign small groups of students to give brief reports that expand on and update the issues raised in the readings.
(Note: this resource was added to OER Commons as part of a batch upload of over 2,200 records. If you notice an issue with the quality of the metadata, please let us know by using the 'report' button and we will flag it for consideration.)
Students pass around and distort messages written on index cards to learn …
Students pass around and distort messages written on index cards to learn how we use signals from GPS occultations to study the atmosphere. The cards represent information sent from GPS satellites being distorted as they pass through different locations in the Earth's atmosphere and reach other satellites. Analyzing GPS occultations enables better global weather forecasting, storm tracking and climate change monitoring.
In this project, students perform library research on an assigned marine animal, …
In this project, students perform library research on an assigned marine animal, create a formatted poster of their topic, and share with their classmates what they've learned in a poster session, conducted in the way of poster sessions at science conferences. Afterward, students complete a written assignment where they are asked to reflect on their experience as a participant in a community of science students, their focused learning on their own marine animal, their larger learning about the diversity of marine life from their poster session participation, and what it implies about the intrinsic value of the ocean realm, and the need for conservation. The outcomes for this assignment are aligned with course-specific outcomes articulated in the Minnesota Transfer Curriculum. They are:
Synthesize central concepts from assigned readings of scientific literature in written assignments. Discuss/compare characteristics of diverse environments in the context of ocean science. Interpret data generated by oceanographic techniques, and present written and oral summaries of their findings. Explain the basic structure and function of the ocean realm, the impact of humans on it, and the impact of the ocean realm on humans.
(Note: this resource was added to OER Commons as part of a batch upload of over 2,200 records. If you notice an issue with the quality of the metadata, please let us know by using the 'report' button and we will flag it for consideration.)
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