Fossil And Artifact School Talk - Looking For Suggestions

[Uncle Siphuncle]

I've volunteered to give a fossil and artifact talk to my son's gifted and talented program next month, grades 1-5. I'll try to keep it to 1/2 hour. I'm thinking about the following agenda.

-One page handout noting basic notes of age of TX rocks and their general distribution across the state, pictures of major types of common fossils, web address to my monthly reports, specific directions to a couple local sites giving up tons of common stuff

-Quick personal intro, how I got into paleo, stress how amateurs (even kids) can not only make cool finds but also make finds important to science

-Slide show beginning with overall TX geo map, note briefly what general types of fossils are found in the various ages of sediments, local geo map, then show a bunch of personal finds in situ vs. prepped, site photos, all arranged from oldest to youngest (Pennsylvanian, Cretaceous, Eocene, Pleistocene, and finally Holocene artifacts), show Weston and his finds often so that kids realize if they put in the effort, they aren't too young to find good stuff, show some of the critters encountered afield to break it up

-Hold up and describe a few large, cool personal finds to supplement photos

-Q&A

-Let them file past the table of big stuff then grab something out of the give away box on the way out

-Donate a classroom set of high grade stuff to the teacher

I'll take it easy on taxonomy so as not to put the kids to sleep. I was thinking it made the most sense to make this thing visually appealing by going photo heavy. I'm not an experienced speaker, but I know that catering to the audience is a must. For a young audience I was thinking that specimen aesthetic beauty is a good way to keep their interest. So what do y'all think?

[mommabetts]

Sounds like a great plan to me, the few things I thought about, you covered at the end, sooooo I think you pretty much got it covered, just keep it simple, not too high tech. Good luck

[Evans]

I've volunteered to give a fossil and artifact talk to my son's gifted and talented program next month, grades 1-5. I'll try to keep it to 1/2 hour. I'm thinking about the following agenda.

-One page handout noting basic notes of age of TX rocks and their general distribution across the state, pictures of major types of common fossils, web address to my monthly reports, specific directions to a couple local sites giving up tons of common stuff

-Quick personal intro, how I got into paleo, stress how amateurs (even kids) can not only make cool finds but also make finds important to science

-Slide show beginning with overall TX geo map, note briefly what general types of fossils are found in the various ages of sediments, local geo map, then show a bunch of personal finds in situ vs. prepped, site photos, all arranged from oldest to youngest (Pennsylvanian, Cretaceous, Eocene, Pleistocene, and finally Holocene artifacts), show Weston and his finds often so that kids realize if they put in the effort, they aren't too young to find good stuff, show some of the critters encountered afield to break it up

-Hold up and describe a few large, cool personal finds to supplement photos

-Q&A

-Let them file past the table of big stuff then grab something out of the give away box on the way out

-Donate a classroom set of high grade stuff to the teacher

I'll take it easy on taxonomy so as not to put the kids to sleep. I was thinking it made the most sense to make this thing visually appealing by going photo heavy. I'm not an experienced speaker, but I know that catering to the audience is a must. For a young audience I was thinking that specimen aesthetic beauty is a good way to keep their interest. So what do y'all think?

Hey Dan,

Not sure what else to add....but if I maintain my normal 4th grade personality can I attend?

Brian

[Xiphactinus]

Dan -

I did a talk at my son's school and told them how every class they take could apply to fossil hunting. It was fun. They thought they had me on some.

Music - the story of Parasaropholus (sp) head crest being like a trombone

Math - you have a Xiphactinus going into a hill...it has 88 vertebra. Each vert is 3". How deep will you have to dig?

Art - reconstructions....

We all had a blast

[Auspex]

Go you!

Put on your best Indiana Jones and give them a show to remember!

Also, look for connections that are relevant to their experiences.

[JohnJ]

Get Weston to video some of the "give away" reactions with your digital camera...he'll like the job.

[MikeD]

Sounds pretty good as is. Lots of visuals and large specimens should hold their interest. Kids will love the grab box and the teacher will appreciate the classroom fossil set.

[tracer]

ok, look, um...

there are only two things which are important regarding this initiative.

the first is, that you pm me all the locations you plan to give away so that i can have them checked for potential safety issues. you know, just to be really safe, you should pm me any other localities within a twenty-mile radius of each of the spots you're giving away, because after your presentation, the kids will be so wound up that they'll explore surrounding areas too, and safety comes first.

ok, the second issue. how to say this. um, kids are great, ok? but they, um, sometimes feel an overwhelming urge to possess that which is already owned by someone else. sooo...if you take priceless little treasures to show them, then physically chain the treasures to yourself so that you'll leave with what you came with.

p.s. - your 30-minute program sounds like 3 hours. but you can present it to me anytime you're in the area.

[Uncle Siphuncle]

Ah yes.....safety......Weston did fall down and rip his shin open at the Del Rio site as it is a slope with more Ilymatogyra than clay. As for the specimens......I was planning to do show and tell with stuff they can't even lift. You have to think like a criminal to beat a criminal at his own game......and Tracer, your thoughts seem to ring with a criminal nature.....

[JohnJ]

Ah yes.....safety......Weston did fall down and rip his shin open at the Del Rio site as it is a slope with more Ilymatogyra than clay. As for the specimens......I was planning to do show and tell with stuff they can't even lift. You have to think like a criminal to beat a criminal at his own game......and Tracer, your thoughts seem to ring with a criminal nature.....

...careful; I see the cat chasing his tail. Uhh...at that age sometimes you'll try anything to impress your friends....(KKerrrplopp!)

[tracer]

...and Tracer, your thoughts seem to ring with a criminal nature.....

no, just an experienced victim.

[PaleoPutz]

As a teacher, I think it is great that you are doing this for the class. The kids will love it. It looks like you have a great plan. The only things I might suggest is to change focus/topics quickly and often. The kids will love the photos, but if it is too long you will start to lose them no matter how cool it is. Of course, they won't have any idea about the lingo. You will have to explain things as if they don't know what rocks are. And be prepared for silly questions... Even the G/T kids will ask them.. Some of them will think the attention is funny and some just won't know any better. I always try to answer them seriously regardless of the motive.

When I show fossils to my class I usually do a journal activity where they have to draw and label their favorite fossil. This is to simulate what someone would do in the field. If you didn't want to do that you might want a coloring sheet or word search to occupy them so they don't occupy each other.

I am sure I am telling you most of what you already know, so I will leave it at that.... Good Luck!

The teacher and students will love the fossils. I use trilobites, shark teeth, small fossil fish, etc. as rewards for my students. They always get excited about them. Almost as excited as I get when I buy them...

Edited September 15, 2009 by PaleoPutz

[siteseer]

I've volunteered to give a fossil and artifact talk to my son's gifted and talented program next month, grades 1-5. I'll try to keep it to 1/2 hour.

I'll take it easy on taxonomy so as not to put the kids to sleep. I was thinking it made the most sense to make this thing visually appealing by going photo heavy. I'm not an experienced speaker, but I know that catering to the audience is a must. For a young audience I was thinking that specimen aesthetic beauty is a good way to keep their interest. So what do y'all think?

Years ago, I gave a talk on "sharks through time" at the Buena Vista Museum. It was an older audience than yours will be but it was also informal. I was told ahead of time that I would have an overhead projector so I made some transparencies, knowing the importance of illustration. I had my notes, but when it came time to talk, I realized trying to go from a few pages of notes line-by-line wasn't going to work so I just winged it with the transparencies, which pretty much reflected what I wanted to get across anyway.

Yeah, with kids and adults, anytime you can show them a recognizable fossil (a shell, a tooth, a footprint, a leaf), you will hold their interest longer especially when you tell them how old it is - how much longer ago a given animal lived before the dinosaurs or before humans (long before the time of Grandpa's Grandpa). Point out that you found the fossils and artifacts yourself (not someone on TV, not someone in a book) and tell them how you learned where to look for them. Talk about things that were big and those that ate other things. Kids love that. You might become known as "The Fossil Man" at the school.

You might find yourself talking for more than thirty minutes. Kids ask a lot of questions and don't forget to say "That's a good question," especially when it is a good question.

[Guest solius symbiosus]

It looks great. If you have the time, maybe add a few quick remarks about how fossils form.

[Ramo]

A few things I used to tell my students:

"There is no such thing as a stupid question....only stupid people"

On the first day of school when the 7th graders were so scared to be up at the JR-Sr High I would ask them if they knew what I liked about 7th graders, and they were always to scared to answer and then I'd yell "Nothing!!!"

(Kids don't have much of a sense of humor, and I don't think they realized I was joking for a while)

I also always told them: "Use your knowledge of science for good and never evil."

Good luck Dan

Ramo

[Cris]

I'm hoping N.AL.Hunter sees this topic. He's done a lot of school presentations on the topic..had a lot of suggestions for me when I mentioned it to him.

[tracer]

when you talk about how the fossils form, don't use a lot of verbal descriptions - just write the chemical change equations on the blackboard. and wear some of those stilts that sheetrockers wear when they're working on the ceiling.

kids love chemistry and stilts.

[2ynpigo]

I think given the age of your audience, you should cut way back on the detail. Forget geologic maps and formation names. Use common names for the fossils.

Show some pictures of cool finds and talk briefly about the age and environment that the rocks and fossils represent.

Keep it simple. Pass out some fossils they can keep.

[ashcraft]

I have done a number of these informal presentations, and have another one in a couple of weeks to the local historical society. I also teach bio and chem for a living. My main suggestion is to keep everything as local as possible, show them what you can find in the area. Talk about the local ecology and how it changes, get into the whole food chain thing, and how the top predators change as climate/prey changes. Pictures are great, hands on is even better.

When I deal with that type of presentation, I try to make them think. Why are there cactus in Missouri? Why do honey locust have thorns? Why are there muskox remains in Perry county? Makes them think about change.

As for no questions ever being stupid, ya'll must have a better class of students then me. Can I go to the bathroom? in the middle of my wonderful lecture is most assuredly not a smart question, which they find out quickly.

Brent Ashcraft

[Guest N.AL.hunter]

Thanks for the vote of confidence Cris...

I agree with 2ynpigo. Your planned presentation sounds too detailed/complex. Also, whenever I have given these talks, the are not as excited about that perfect sea urchin as they are about anything dino related. They always want to see the dino stuff. As much hands on the better. Have fun.

Edited September 16, 2009 by N.AL.hunter

[tracer]

i used to have some big, green stuffed dino feet shoes with big yellow claws, and soundmakers in them that made loud stomping sounds when i stomped.

not that i should have admitted that.

<sigh>

anyway, i agree that wild tales of prehistoric carnivorositiniciousohpositiveness will probably keep their rapt(or) attention, even if you do get hate mail from the moms who have to stay up all night with the little nightmare-havers. i'm kinda startin' to giggle at the thought of the kids in san antonio all thinking of dan when they see therapods for the rest of their lives.

[MikeD]

i used to have some big, green stuffed dino feet shoes with big yellow claws, and soundmakers in them that made loud stomping sounds when i stomped.

not that i should have admitted that.

<sigh>

Did you have the dino head, too? I gave some of those to my grandson for his birthday.

[Uncle Siphuncle]

I shot an email to the teacher to get her take on number of photos etc. For her kids she liked my outline. My collection consists only of self made finds, and there aren't many dinos within easy driving range of me, but I can place some emphasis on Pleistocene megafauna. Since I'm concentrating on TX, I'll have to leave out my big Yorktown whale verts etc. Thanks all for the input.

[Uncle Siphuncle]

Well the teacher wants me to show all 177 pics......I suppose I'll defer to her knowledge of her students.

[Phoenixflood]

Sounds great Dan. I would suggest one thing if you haven't already done it. I would pair pictures of the actual "living" animal when you present the fossils. That way the kids can see where the fossil fits and have an idea of the actual creature it belonged to.