In this lesson, each student is given a block of wood and a screw (or nail), and is asked to put the screw into the block, without any tool (like a screwdriver or hammer). Their efforts, with varying success, lead to a discussion of contrivances, using various items and strategies as make-do (contrived) tools for which they were not intended, and an exploration of many examples of contrivances or ... Full description.

This collection of links connects to thirty two student activities or background sites that apply the study of fossils to student learning. Activities cover a wide range of topics including age dating, oil exploration, and climate change. It also contains four additional links to related websites. Full description.

This guided tour of the dinosaur known as Dilophosaurus is narrated by the discoverer of Dilophosaurus, Sam Welles, formerly a professor at the University of California Museum of Paleontology (UCMP). Links lead to Dr. Wells' description of the discovery, as well as the morphology and habits of the creature. He also compares and contrasts the real animal with the one shown in the movie Jurassic Park. ... Full description.

This historical background information discusses the myths associated with dinosaurs. The site contains links to sections entitled the Fossil Record, Life History and Ecology, Systematics, and More on Morphology. Additional links lead to special exhibits and detailed information about dinosaurs as well as sources for further reading. Full description.

Younger students can learn about plant biology. Topics include characteristics of living things, germination and growth, the basic parts of plants, photosynthesis, reproduction, and ecological adaptations of plants. The information presented can also be ordered as a video. Full description.

Students will have the chance to see some strange and unusual dinosaurs they have never heard of when they can play with the cladogram. A cladogram is like a family tree. It's a way of organizing dinosaurs based on the unique characteristics they share, like a three-toed foot or a hole in the hip socket. In order to see the information the student will roll over a dinosaur's name to see its picture, ... Full description.

In this activity student groups, after being given the proper background information, will work together to determine the likely food source and overall body shape for each animal from a single dinosaur tooth. Class discussion will then be initiated by naming the animal whose tooth was described, then showing color pictures of reconstructions of the dinosaur and its environment. Additional discussion ... Full description.

This educator's guide focuses on parts of the Solar System that do not get much attention: asteroid, meteoroids, and comets. By picking at least one activity from each section, students gain a breadth of understanding about mission planning and execution couched in a real world context of an actual mission, Stardust, which is studying small bodies in the Solar System until 2006. Topics include: comet ... Full description.

This lesson provides teachers with a highly effective way of presenting paleontology and earth science principles with limited classroom time. The main idea is to emphasize the thought processes that paleontologists use in their work. By answering certain questions and learning certain principles, students are compelled to think about the process of scientific reasoning. The process consists of taking ... Full description.

In this imaginary fossil hunt, students learn about the uncertainty of science and the fact that, as new evidence is revealed, ideas may change. As they follow a script read by the teacher, students find (remove from envelope) paper fossils of some unknown creature, a few at a time. Each time, they attempt to reconstruct the creature and each time their interpretation tends to change as new pieces ... Full description.