Flower - Do 7 requirements.

Triangle - Do 9 requirements.

Circle - Do 11 requirements.

6-8 Rectangle – Do 14 requirements.

9-12 Rectangle – Do all requirements.

Paleontologists learn about organisms and the environments they lived in through fossils. Fossils tell them what the Earth was like at a particular time in history. Fossils are not just ‘dinosaur bones’, they are the remains of prehistoric plants, mammals, fish, insects, fungi and even microbes from long ago. Paleontologists study fossils to learn more about the history of ancient life.

1. What Do Paleontologists Do?

2. There are many different fields that paleontologists can specialize in. Name 4 of the fields and what they do in each.

3. In addition to the National Park Service, many other Federal, state, county, and local areas and museums provide opportunities to see fossils and learn about paleontology. Go to a museum with your family and explore the Paleontology exhibits.

Draw or describe fossils from the site you visited, or would like to visit in the future!

4. Create a chart showing suggested geological eras and periods. Determine which period the rocks in your region might have been formed.

a. Explain the processes of burial and fossilization, and discuss the concept of extinction.

b. Explain how fossils provide information about ancient life, environment, climate, and geography.

c. Collect 10 different fossil plants and/or animals. Record in a notebook where you got each one.

Classify each specimen to the best of your ability, and explain how each one might have survived and obtained food. Tell what else you can learn from your fossils.

5. Do ONE of the following:

a. Visit a science museum or the geology department of a local university that has fossils on display. With your parent's approval, before you go, make an appointment with a curator or guide who can show you how the fossils are preserved and prepared for display.

b. Visit a structure in your area that was built using fossiliferous rocks. Determine what kind of rock was used and tell your counselor the kinds of fossil evidence you found there.

c. Visit a rock outcrop that contains fossils. Determine what kind of rock contains the fossils, and the kinds of fossil evidence you found at the outcrop.

d. Prepare a display or presentation on your state fossil. Include an image of the fossil, the age of the fossil, and its classification. You may use maps, books, articles from periodicals, and research found on the Internet (with your parent's permission). Share the display with your group (such as your class at school). If your state does not have a state fossil, you may select a state fossil from a neighboring state.

6. A Paleontologist uses fossils to understand the story of Earth’s history. This story includes the plants and animals that once lived on Earth. Evidence of this past life is found by paleontologists within sedimentary rocks. These rocks are made of the broken pieces of other rocks called sediment that have become compacted or cemented together over time.

Sediment can be clay, sand, or gravel. Rocks can form on land or in water. An ancient beach might leave behind sand which forms into sandstone. Ocean sediments could develop into marine shale made of clay, or limestone from broken down shells. If the remains of an animal or plant, like bones or leaves, are covered by sediments, a fossil may become preserved in the rock formed from these sediments.

Now it is your turn to hunt for fossil-bearing rocks and the stories they hold!

Find the underlined words in the text above in the word search.

Words may go up, down, or diagonally.

When you finish, write down the unused letters in order in the spaces below to reveal a hidden message!

Puzzle thanks to National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior - Geologic Resources Division

“__ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ , __ __ __ __ __ __ __

__ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __

__ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __.”

7. Create a game about the fossilization process.

8. Did you know that footprints made by an ancient animal or the imprint of a leaf can be considered a fossil?

Fossils are evidence of life preserved within a geologic context. Paleontologists study both the fossil and the rocks that they are preserved in to understand past life forms and the environment in which they lived.

Write the letter of each picture in the box of the fossil type it represents.

9. Paleontologists are scientists who study what life was like on Earth a very long time ago. They do this by “reading” fossils and rocks for clues about past environments and life. Look at the pictures below and fill in the missing word to find out some of what paleontologists do.

Applying Digging Sealing Looking Brushing

__________________ fossil bones in plaster _____________ at fossil bones with the

Jacket for transport. help of a microscope.

_____________ glue to a petrified stump __________________ a jaw bone out of a

In the field. Rock with a rock hammer.

_________________ away sediment from

bones inside an open plaster cast.

Imagine yourself as a paleontologist. Draw a picture of yourself at work and write a caption to describe it.

10. Paleontologists use many tools to find and clean fossils. Draw lines to match the images to what they are used for.

1. Wipe away sediment from fossils
2. Move large amounts of sediment
3. Wrap up fossil material before applying plaster
4. Pick grains of sediment out of cracks
5. Break open fossil-bearing rocks
6. Take notes on fossil collection site

Toilet Paper

Rock Hammer

Dental Picks Brush

Notebook

Shovel

Brush

11. The rocks at the Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona form neat layers. You can see the different colors in the picture below. These layers can help paleontologists find out the age of a fossil by using relative age dating.

Relative age dating is a way to compare the age of different fossils in a particular section of rock. This gives a general idea of what is older or younger.

To get exact ages, paleontologists use absolute age dating techniques like testing the minerals of volcanic rocks.

RULES OF RELATIVE AGE DATING:

1. Sediments were originally laid down flat.

2. The oldest rocks are found on the bottom.

3. Fossils in the same layer are the same age.

Using the time table below and the rules found above, compare the ages of the fossils and answer the following questions.

Which is older: the mammal jaw or the sea worm?

Which is older: the trilobite or the jellyfish?

What time period is not shown?

Which organism was around for the most time periods?

12. The Paleozoic Era started with the Cambrian Explosion which brought a huge change in life. Many never-before seen creatures with shells and new body designs can be found in rocks from this time period. The first fish appeared in the late Paleozoic Era giving it the name Age of the Fishes.

North America looked very different during this time. It was near the equator with water covering much of today’s dry land. Find a map of the North American continent from the Paleozoic Era and answer the questions below.

Would your hometown have been dry during this time?

Mammoth Cave National Park in Kentucky was formed out of Paleozoic Era limestone. This limestone eroded as water flowed through and created the magnificent caves.

Other sea life, like the trilobites, also thrived in the Paleozoic waters. Trilobites were marine arthropods, meaning they are distantly related to shrimp, lobsters, and crabs!

Fossil fish from the Paleozoic Era ranged in size from less than 1 foot up to 33 feet long.

Some fish, called placoderms, had hard armor and sharp jaws making them fierce predators of the Paleozoic seas.

Fish-like creatures moved onto land, using strong fins to move about the shores. Answer the questions pertaining to this Era.

What do you think a trilobite felt like?

What animals today live part of their lives in the water and part on land?

Plants began to take root on land, with ferns and conifers providing food to land animals.

At the end of the Paleozoic Era, a huge extinction event changed life on the planet once again. Seventy percent (70%) of all land organisms and ninety-five percent (95%) of all marine species became extinct at that time.

13. The Mesozoic Era began with recovery from the Permian Extinction. During the Triassic Period, reptiles started taking over many environments including the hot, forested environments of North America. Today, you can imagine the 250 foot tall trees that lived here by visiting the fossilized trees of Petrified Forest National Park in Arizona.

The Triassic marks the first appearance of dinosaurs. One of the earliest dinosaurs, the 4 foot tall Coelophysis (see-low-fi-sus), lived among the giant trees in Petrified Forest. Early dinosaurs were often smaller than the giants of later times like Tyrannosaurus Rex or Stegosaurus. Complete the maze to find your way through the petrified tree stump.

14. Dinosaur National Monument preserves an amazing record of fossils including dinosaur bones and fossilized clams. Dinosaurs, just like living things today, were especially suited for their environments. Plant-eating Diplodocus and meat-eating Allosaurus both had to find food and shelter in the environments of the time.

Paleontologists use fossils and data to predict what creatures looked like millions of years ago. These animals ranged from tiny rodents to gigantic undersea monsters!

Design your own creature — think about what it ate, where it lived, and how it avoided enemies.

15. Giants ruled the late Mesozoic Era. Paleontologists have found the remains of dinosaurs, flying reptiles called pterosaurs, and others in the Cretaceous rocks of Big Bend National Park, Texas.

These enormous creatures dominated the land for millions of years before they became extinct at the end of the Cretaceous Period, about 120 million years ago.

Fill in your height and answer the questions.

Could you have fit inside the mouth of a hungry Deinosuchus? Could your parents?

__________________________________________________________________

How many people your height could lay down for a ride on the wings of Quetzacoatlus?

__________________________________________________________________

How many feet longer is the Alamosaurus than you are tall?

__________________________________________________________________

Make up your own question to ask a parent or friend: __________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________?

16. What kind of fossils can you find where you live?

Look at a map of parks that preserve fossils across the United States and count how many are in your home state?

You can find out about fossil parks near you at http://go.nps.gov/nfd_fossilparks.

17. Fossils are such a popular resource that many states have chosen a “State Fossil” or “State

Dinosaur.” Typically, the State Fossil represents a fossil which is well known or common in that state.

Check at your library or on the internet to find your state’s special fossil. If your state hasn’t chosen one, choose a fossil to represent your state. You can even write a letter to your state legislature and encourage them to adopt your fossil choice as the state fossil!

Draw your state fossil below!

State:

Fossil:

Where was it found?:

How does it represent your state?