Donald Baumgartner
TWO HUNDRED SECOND GRADE STUDENTS MYSTIFIED BY
FOSSILS
ESCONI Club member Donald Baumgartner, an avid fossil enthusiast, conducted yet
another fossil program in the Chicagoland area this past October, this time at
the Tate Woods School in Lisle, Illinois. The teachers, students, and Resource
Center loved Don’s fossil program so much initially in 2002 that they invited
Don back this year for his third time at this particular school. Spending all
day at the school, Donald repeated his “Dinosaur Dig“ before 5 separate second
grade classes at the school. “The children were absolutely excited and thrilled”
about this interactive educational opportunity, as relayed by the school’s
events coordinator. “This program dovetails well with our elementary school’s
curriculum at present” said the school’s librarian. “Giving children practical
experience in paleontology makes the lessons about fossils sink in”. Donald’s
fossil program presented the students with a simulation of what real-life fossil
collectors and dinosaur hunters really do. Donald, who quickly became known
throughout the school that day as the “Fossil Man”, used actual fossils from
Illinois and the world to tell the story of life of our historic past.
Afterwards, students were quizzed about what they had learned and given free
fossils as rewards. Each program concluded with hands-on activities such as
searching beach sand for shark teeth, polishing amber for insects, and opening
plaster jackets for real dinosaur bones, and kept all the fossils recovered from
these 3 activities. The program received news coverage in the Chicago suburban
Lisle newspaper. Excerpts of the activity stations from his 2002 program are
posted at the web site http://www.lisle.dupage.k12.il.us/TWIMC/Fossils.htm.
Donald remains available for fossil children programs at libraries, schools, and
theme birthday parties. He may be contacted at
blowfly@att.net
Donald Baumgartner’s Interesting Web Links
Subject:The Piltdown Fly
From the web a person can view this taped presentation (moving pictures with
sound) directly on your computer. This 30 minute presentation on fake amber and
fake insects in amber is well worth the site visit. Visit the Darwin Center for
this other science videos.
It's an interesting presentation about the Piltdown Fly and a discussion
regarding tests for fake amber and such like held in the NHML's Darwin Centre.
It's hosted by none other than Dr. Andrew Ross, Curator of Fossil Arthropods at
NHML, and amongst other things author of the well regarded book 'Amber: The
Natural Time Capsule'.
It's available in both Quicktime and Windows Media format at either 56K or 300K
(for the broadbanders out there). The link is as follows:
http://www.nhm.ac.uk/darwincentre/live/presentations/261103AndyRoss.html
Subject: Fossil of fearsome amphibian uncovered
http://www.cnn.com/2004/TECH/science/11/09/amphibianf.ap/index.html
MAMMOTH HUNT Program Presented at Lizzadro Museum by Club Member
If you think it is cold now as we experience winter, you should take comfort in the fact that 10,000 years ago during the last ice age much of Illinois and neighboring States were covered by glaciers and the climate was MUCH COLDER than the winters are today. At that time woolly mammoths roamed much of the Great Lakes areas, along with Mastodons and several other large mammals, such as giant beavers, raccoon, wolf, bears, and more.
Club member Donald Baumgartner, an avid fossil enthusiast, completed a program for adults and children on Mammoths at the Lizzadro Museum in Elmhurst, Illinois last December. During this “Mammoth Hunt” class Donald introduced the students to the past glacial environment of Illinois and discussed the diversity of mammals alive then through examination of replica jaw casts. Through this hands-on program, students examined the replica jaws and teeth of these ice-aged mammals to assess their diets. Real mammoths and mastodon teeth and real Siberia mammoth hair were available for examination. Students examined full-sized replica teeth of Columbian, Woolly, and Pygmy Mammoths, and compared these to Mastodon and present day African elephant teeth. Children casted their own Woolly and Columbian mammoth teeth to identify and keep.
Future Spring/Summer courses to be offered by Donald at Lizzadro include “Fishing for Fossils (Green River’s Legacy)” and “Fun Making Fossils (Casting Your Own Fossils)”. In addition, Donald has scheduled continuing education “Family Fossil Discovery” classes this Spring through both William Rainey Harper College (www.harpercollege.edu) and Township High School District 211 (www.d211.org).
Donald remains available for fossil programs at libraries, schools, and elsewhere. He may be contacted at blowfly@att.net.
Read More About It:
1. Mammoth Site of South Dakota at http://www.mammothsite.com/
2. Mammoths of Illinois at http://www.prin.edu/mammoth/ or http://www.museum.state.il.us/exhibits/larson/mammuthus.html
3. Mammoths of Wisconsin at http://www.woollymammoth.org/
Photo provided is a Columbian Mammoth skeleton displayed at the Mammoth Site Museum, South Dakota.
Last Updated 1/26/2005
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