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Cub Scouts Visit Ancient Eras in Geologic Time Machine By Helen Gibbons and Carol Reiss November 2000 in this issue:  previous story | next story Cub Scouts display the saber-toothed cat skull they just "excavated" as part of an Earth Science Week activity entitled "The Geologic Time Machine." As part of Earth Science Week (October 8th-14th), Carol Reiss guided Cub Scouts through a Geologic Time Machine at the Marine Facility in Redwood City, California. With the help of an echo mike, the scouts were encouraged to use their imaginations as they walked backwards into a dark hall, simulating travel back millions of years into the Earth's history. From there they visited three areas—the Paleozoic Room, the Mesozoic Room, and the Cenozoic Room—in which they excavated and examined fossils illustrating the evolution of life. The biggest hit was the Mesozoic Room, where hadrosaur fossils borrowed from USGS paleontologists were buried beneath popcorn in a simulated dig set up on a large table. Colored yarn delineated a grid that the kids used to plot the location of fossils they dug out of the popcorn. An enlarged illustration of a dinosaur skeleton helped the kids figure out what body parts each fossil represented, and additional fossils helped them determine what foods their dinosaur may have eaten. In the Cenozoic Room, the kids excavated a saber-toothed cat skull and crawled through a cardboard cave to see mammoth drawings on the walls. The time tour, which lasted just less than an hour, was very popular. in this issue:  previous story | next story

November 2000 Mailing List: Sign up to receive monthly email updates: in this issue: Delmarva Coastal Bays—Hoverprobe cover story: St. Pete Open House Cub Scouts JC Students Visit St. Pete Teachers Learn About Rocks Chesapeake Bay—Dartmouth College Seafloor Mapping Leadership in Scientific Research British Antarctic Survey FWS, USGS Honored for Restoring Refuge Student Achievement Awards ECO Photo Contest ESRI 2000 Conference Expert Witnesses at Environmental Trial Two Long-Time Geologists Retire November Publications List

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