facilitated program - western australian...

Western Australian MuseumTeacher Resource: We Dig Dinosaurs© 2012

museum.wa.gov.au

PerthWestern Australian Museum

K - 3Early Childhood

We Dig Dinosaurs

Facilitated ProgramOverview: How do we know everything we know about dinosaurs? Reveal,

reconstruct and investigate fossils and other prehistoric evidence, just like a real palaeontologist.

Duration: One hour facilitated experience with a Museum Education Officer.

Please allow approximately 45 minutes for self-guided gallery exploration using the interactive book Explore Dinosaurs with Indiana Bones.

Cost: $5 per student.

Whatyourclasswillexperience:

Uncover a large fossil buried under sand. Use tools to excavate a fossil from rock. Reconstruct a dinosaur skeleton. Identify real fossils. Learn types of fossils. Self-guided gallery exploration using interactive comic book

Explore Dinosaurs with Indiana Bones (free with facilitated booking).

ExcursionBookingandEnquiries:For enquiries and bookings please contact:

Western Australian Museum – PerthEducation

Phone: 9427 2792Fax: 9427 2883Email: [email protected]

museum.wa.gov.au


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Contents

Teacher Resource

Facilitated Program

Links 3 Curriculum Galleries

At the Museum 4 FacilitatedProgram Self-guidedExperience RelatedMuseumResources

At School 5 Classroom Activities

Self-guided Experience 7 How to Use Explore Dinosaurs with Indiana Bones

At the Museum 9 FacilitatedProgram Self-guidedExperience RelatedMuseumResources

museum.wa.gov.au


HackettHallFoyerHackettHall,Ground Floor

DiamondstoDinosaursJubileeWing,Level 2

DiscoveryCentreHackettHall,Ground Floor

Curriculum LifeandLiving Students understand their own biology and that of other living

things and recognise the interdependence of life.

KeyMessages

1. By investigating fossils, we can identify, compare and contrast various aspects of a dinosaur’s habitat, diet and behaviour.

2. The physical features and behaviours of dinosaurs enabled them to survive in their environment.

Galleries

3

Links

Science

museum.wa.gov.au


FacilitatedProgramOnehour

The facilitated component of We Dig Dinosaurs takes place in one of the Museum’s learning spaces. It is a hands-on, interactive experience with five activity stations where the students become ’junior palaeontologists’.

Pleasehaveyourstudentssplitintofivegroupsforthisexperience(dependingonthenumberofstudentsandadults).Eachgroupwillrequireoneadultsupervisortoassistthemwiththeactivities.

Self-guidedExperienceApproximately45minutes

Explore Dinosaurs with Indiana Bones is an interactive, educational comic book which takes students on a journey through the Museum’s palaeontological displays. For further information please refer to the Self-guided Experience section at the end of this document.

Please allow additional time to explore the other galleries before or after your facilitated program. Maps are available at the Information desk to assist you, or please ask a staff member for directions.

RelatedMuseumResourcesPlanningYourExcursion

Excursion Management Plan Excursion Essentials Availableonlinemuseum.wa.gov.au/education

Publications

Fun stuff for students: • 3D T-rex mask • Dinosaur finger puppets

Availableforpurchase,pleaseenquireattimeofbooking.

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At the Museum

museum.wa.gov.au


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At School

ClassroomActivities

Fromthislist,pleaseselectsomeactivitiesthataresuitablefortheageandabilityofyourstudents.

Footprints:Find out the size of a well-known dinosaur footprint and draw an outline on a large sheet of paper. How many students can fit an outline of their own foot inside it?

Sizeandscale:Use measuring tapes, rulers and other measuring devices such as paper strips to compare the heights of different dinosaurs to everyday objects and familiar buildings. Remember that not all dinosaurs were massive and many could easily fit through the classroom door!

Classification:Discuss herbivores and carnivores, examining pictures of each to determine common distinguishing features such as teeth, claws and limb size/shape. Create a chart in the classroom to show dinosaurs in these categories and add other animals (including humans) to the chart.

Exploringthroughthearts:Re-write familiar songs to a dinosaur theme and add some creative hand or body actions, e.g. ‘Five Little Ducks’ becomes ‘Five Little Dinosaurs’.

Mypetdinosaur.Make dinosaur eggs out of balloons and papier-maché. Paint white and then cut the top open. Make a sock puppet dinosaur to pop out the top.

PreparingfortheMuseumExcursion:Before visiting the Museum, create a ‘mind map’ of the facts that the class know about dinosaurs.

Findoutmore:Use a variety of books and online resources to research dinosaurs seen at the Museum – Muttaburrasaurus, Carnotaurus, Gorgosaurus and Tyrannosaurus rex.

Dinosaursaroundtheworld:When researching dinosaurs and fossils from around the world, place coloured pins with the dinosaurs’ names on a world map. Where are most of the fossils found? Which dinosaurs have been found in Australia?

Describe-a-saur:Palaeontologists had to use clues from fossils to guess what dinosaurs looked like. What would it be like to draw something that you did not know a lot about? In pairs, give each student a picture of a dinosaur. One has to describe the dinosaur to the other, who has to draw it without looking at the picture. Encourage students to describe features such as teeth, limbs, protection plates, neck length, etc.

museum.wa.gov.au


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Dinosaurbodies–structureandfunction:Make dinosaur skeletons out of modelling clay or white pipe cleaners. Discuss how the shape of each feature has a specific purpose; e.g. teeth are sharp for cutting or flat for grinding, limb bones are long for striding or reaching, ribs are curved to protect organs and the skull is thick to protect the brain.

Colourorcamouflage?: Collect a variety of dinosaur colouring-in pages and give one to each class member. Instruct half the class to use camouflaging colours and the other half to use ‘mate-attracting’ colours. Hide all pictures in a small garden area and then give students 30 seconds to find as many as they can. Discuss findings and the benefits of different skin colours, explaining that scientists have used other clues to guess what colour dinosaurs were. Investigate other reptiles and their skin colour.

Design-a-saur:Draw plans for a ‘new’ dinosaur, including special features to:

• capture or collect food • eat food • hide from danger • move from place to place • call or attract a mate • defend itself in a fight.

Use modelling clay to make the dinosaur in 3D, adding features with toothpicks, pipe cleaners, feathers, small shells and coloured markers.

Survivalandextinctiontheories:Make a list on the board (using words or simple pictures) in two categories:

• Things that helped dinosaurs survive (such as food, water, new eggs, sunshine, plants etc).

• Things that may have contributed to extinction (such as volcanoes, predators, cooler climate, meteorites etc).

Each class member can draw a picture of one of the things on the board. Stick coloured card on the back so all pictures look the same. Use these to play a ‘survival of the fittest’ game where class members stand in a circle, each member turning a card over, sitting down if they turn an ‘extinction’ card over.

Western Australian MuseumSelf-guided Experience: Explore Dinosaurs with Indiana Bones© 2011

PerthWestern Australian Museum

K - 3Early Childhood

Explore Dinosaurs with Indiana Bones

Self-guided ExperienceOverview: Explore Dinosaurs with Indiana Bones is an interactive, educational

comic book which takes students on a journey to discover dinosaurs and other interesting fossils on display around the Museum.

Duration: Please allow approximately 45 minutes for self-guided gallery exploration using the interactive book Explore Dinosaurs with Indiana Bones.

Cost: $2 per student.

FREE activity for classes that have booked the We Dig Dinosaurs facilitated program.

Whatyourclasswillexperience:

Self-guided gallery exploration using interactive comic book Explore Dinosaurs with Indiana Bones.

ExcursionBookingandEnquiries:For enquiries and bookings please contact:

Western Australian Museum – PerthEducation

Phone: 9427 2792Fax: 9427 2883Email: [email protected]

Indiana Bones

Western Australian Museum – Perth

museum.wa.gov.au 7

museum.wa.gov.au


HackettHallFoyerHackettHall,GroundFloor

DiamondstoDinosaursJubileeWing,Level 2

DiscoveryCentreHackettHall,Ground Floor

Curriculum LifeandLiving Students understand their own biology and that of other living

things and recognise the interdependence of life.

KeyMessages

1. By investigating fossils, we can identify, compare and contrast various aspects of a dinosaur’s habitat, diet and behaviour.

2. The physical features and behaviours of dinosaurs enabled them to survive in their environment.

Galleries

Links

Science

8

5

museum.wa.gov.au


At the Museum

Self-guidedExperienceApproximately45minutes

Explore Dinosaurs with Indiana Bones is an interactive, educational comic book which takes students on a journey through the Museum’s palaeontological displays.

Please allow additional time to explore the other galleries in the Museum. Maps are available at the Information desk to assist you, or please ask a staff member for directions.

RelatedMuseumResourcesPlanningYourExcursion

Excursion Management Plan Excursion Essentials Availableonlinemuseum.wa.gov.au/education

Publications

Fun stuff for students: • 3D T-rex mask • Dinosaur finger puppets

Availableforpurchase,pleaseenquireattimeofbooking.

Oh, awesome! It’s...

This skull is an exact copy of the second

T-rex fossil ever found.

It was didcovered by fossil-hunter

Barnum Brown in 1908!

Do you think this skull is a real bone?

How can you tell?

10

Actual size of

T-rex’s tooth.

These super-

sharp chompers

could crush bone.

A T-rex could weigh

more than 7,oookg -

that’s about the same as

280 kids!

T-rex had about 200 bones in its skeleton.

Humans have 206!

Can you see the Gorgosaurus skeleton?

Look how much bigger T-rex would have been!

T-rex

Gorgosaurus

Human

T-rex’s

eyeballs were

about the size

of tennis balls!

6m 11

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museum.wa.gov.au


Instructions

OnArrival

Arrange a suitable time for your Explore Dinosaurs with Indiana Bones self-guided experience.

•Please allow time to explore the Museum’s other galleries during your visit.

WhenYouAreReadyToBegin

Collect Explore Dinosaurs with Indiana Bones from the desk in the main foyer.

•Each class will be allocated five Big Book copies.

Split your students into five small groups, each with an adult helper.

•Please stagger the starting time for each group to prevent crowding as they move through the Museum displays. The Discovery Centre is a good place for groups to wait for other groups to get started.

WhenYouAreDone

Please return all copies of Explore Dinosaurs with Indiana Bones to the desk in the main foyer.

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museum.wa.gov.au


TipsForAdultHelpersThe following suggestions will help each adult leader to make the most of their group’s experience in the galleries while using Explore Dinosaurs with Indiana Bones.

Each group will visit several galleries – the location and directions are clearly stated in the book.

•To help the adult helpers navigate, the pictures in the book also match up to displays and/or signs within the galleries.

Encourage each adult helper to read the book with their students, holding the pages open so that everyone can see, as they explore the galleries.

•The comic-style book contains rhymes that will encourage the students to participate, as they help their adult leader to complete the sentences and answer the questions.

Encourage each group to take lots of photos along the way. These will be useful for follow-up activities back at school.

Explore the drawers under the tool display.

What can you discover?

There’s lots of dust that gets in the way,so I use this brush to sweep it away.

When I find a big fossilit’s a happy surprise,

so I use this ruler to measure its

Next I make a label on a tag,and keep the

fossil safe in this plastic

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Muttaburrasaurus has joined our

trail. Look at its long neck and

very long ______

How could its long

neck be helpful?

Which dinosaur will

we learn about next?

It’s a plant-eater,

they are called

h__________

Can you see the flat

teeth inside its jaws?

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