Indiana Jones wasn’t the only one who enjoyed the excitement of an archeological dig! This week we examined fossils and artifacts of the past, and learned all about Colorado’s prehistoric discoveries.
This Monday we dug right into this week’s theme: Dinosaurs! We talked about the distance in time we would have to travel back to meet them, how they got their cool names, and even thought about the animals still around today that might be direct descendants of dinos. Then, at critter crawl we search the river for critters that might share traits of those terrible lizards or could have even been around during the time of the dinosaurs.
Tuesday was spent uncovering the facts hidden beneath the surface of the Curiosity Kit from the Denver Museum of Nature and Science. They had so many cool fossils in there! They helped us form a better timeline of when certain dinosaurs were marching around what is now Colorado, and shared some awesome fun facts with us as well. Thanks DMNS!
On Wednesday we morphed into geologists, understanding how the rocks that make up our earth came to be, sorting them into their categories, and learning how to become best friends with rocks as well. In the afternoon we searched the river bed for the best rocks and found some beauties.
Thursday was a great field day to continue our transformation from young igneous rocks into more weathered sedimentary and metamorphic rocks. As we transformed we were able to better understand how the fossils of our dino friends were preserved throughout millenia. In the afternoon we found more cool rocks and critters in the river that used to be connected to the beaches where the dinosaurs roamed.
On Friday we traveled back in time towards today, but not too close, to see how some events from the last few hundred years shaped the city we call home today. Floods and river changes can have dramatic effects on how we build cities and interact with the waterways. This week we learned about Colorado through many different ages.
Week 7: CO Carnivores