Bone Identification
Source Institutions
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Twin Cities Public Television
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This activity (page 3 of the PDF) is a full inquiry investigation into fossil hunting and identification. Groups of learners will sift through a commercially prepared owl pellet, looking for bone pieces that they will attempt to match to an identification chart and subsequently arrange into a rough skeleton. Learners use this exercise to consider how animal skeletons help researchers determine what kinds of animals live together in an ecosystem as well compare the bones they find to the bones in their own body. Relates to linked video, DragonflyTV GPS: Dinosaurs.
- 5 to 10 minutes
- 1 to 2 hours
- $5 - $10 per group of students
- Ages 8 - 14
- Activity, Experiment/Lab Activity
- English
Quick Guide
Materials List (per group of students)
- commercially prepared owl pellets
- 9-inch cake pan (no longer usable for baking!)
- magnifying glass
- tweezers
- sheets of white office paper
- bone identification chart
- optional: latex gloves [Note: non-latex gloves are available for individuals with latex allergy.]
- anti-bacterial soap
Subjects
- Earth and Space Science
- Earth's History
- Archeology
- Fossils
- Ecology
- Earth's History
- Life Sciences
- Diversity of Life
- Animals
- Classification
- Biodiversity
- Ecology
- Ecosystems
- Biodiversity
- Human Body
- Skeleton
- Diversity of Life
- The Nature of Science
- The Scientific Process
- About Inquiry
- Conducting Investigations
- Formulating Explanations
- Science as a Career
- The Scientific Process
Informal Categories
- Animals
- Nature and Environment
Audience
To use this activity, learners need to:
- see
- read
- touch
Learning styles supported:
- Involves teamwork and communication skills
- Involves hands-on or lab activities
Culture, ethnicity, and gender
Girls
- Highlights STEM opportunities for this group
- Identifies role models or mentors in STEM fields from this group
- Uses inclusive images of people from this group
Other
Components that are part of this resource:
This resource is part of:
Access Rights:
- Free access
By:
Source Collection:
- DragonflyTV
Rights:
- All Rights Reserved, Twin Cities Public Television, Inc., ©2006
Funding Source:
- National Science Foundation, 436260
