Discovery Quest 2-3. Chaperone Guide

Transcription

1 Discovery Quest 2-3 Chaperone Guide Chaperone: Partner this guide with the 2-3 Discovery Quest Worksheet. This guide will help you lead students through the natural history exhibits of the Pink Palace Museum. Bold words are to be read aloud. Italicized words are instructions for an activity Introduction: Begin near the python skeleton Skeletons: Sort! This is the skeletons gallery. Here we can see the skeletons of lots of different animals. As we look around, I want you to look at the different types of teeth each skeleton has. Some animals have sharp, pointy teeth. Sharp teeth are good to have if you are an animal that hunts other animals for food. An animal that hunts other animals is called a Predator. Can everyone say predator? Now, if an animal eats meat it is called a carnivore. Do you think predators are carnivores? Yes! Some animals do not have sharp pointy teeth. Some animals have teeth that are flat and shaped like squares. Flat, square teeth are good for grinding up grass and leaves. An animal that eats plants is called a herbivore. Herbivores do not hunt other animals; they are usually the animal that is being hunted! An animal that is hunted by other animals is called prey. Can everyone say prey? Who has sharp teeth for hunting? Predators. And what do we call the animal that the predator is hunting? Prey. An animal that eats meat is called what? A carnivore. An animal that eats plants is called what? A herbivore. Instructions: Students will complete a sorting activity sorting animal names into the carnivore or herbivore category. Now we are going to do a sorting activity. It is the activity with pictures of a steak and a plant on it. We will sort each animal name into the category of carnivore or herbivore. We can look at the skulls of each animal in the gallery to help us sort. Animals with sharp teeth are probably carnivore. Animals with square flat teeth are probably herbivores.

2 Answer: Conclusion: Now that we have sorted all the animals and looked at the skulls, let s see if we can guess who is a predator and who is prey. Answer: Giraffe=Prey, Lion=Predator, Python=Predator, Rabbit=Prey, Deer=Prey, Crocodile=Predator. Challenge Question: What type of teeth do you have? Why do you need both sharp and flat teeth? Answer: We have both sharp and flat teeth. We are omnivores meaning we eat both plants and animals so we need both types of teeth to help us consume both types of food. Introduction: Begin near the Butterfly display Insects: Label! This is the insect gallery. Here we can see butterflies from around the world. As you look at the body, I want you to notice the 3 body segments that every butterfly has. Each butterfly has a head. (point to head), a thorax (point to chest), and an abdomen (point to lower half of the body). See if you can identify these parts on the butterflies as you look at the displays. There is one more important thing we are going to learn about butterflies. Butterflies go through a process called metamorphosis. Metamorphosis is the process of transformation that happens in two or more distinct stages from an immature form to an adult form.

3 Instructions: Students will complete a labeling activity for the stages of butterfly metamorphosis and identifying the three parts of the butterfly body. Now we are going to do a labeling activity. It is the activity with a picture showing butterflies. First, you need to search the gallery for a diagram that shows the metamorphosis of a butterfly. You will fill in the blanks with the name of each stage in the metamorphosis. Then, you will label the three parts of the butterfly s body by filling in the blanks by the butterfly picture. All the answers are in a word bank at the bottom of your sheet. Metamorphosis Diagram is on the pillar with the butterflies. Answer: Conclusion: Now that we have labeled both butterfly diagrams, let s review the four stages of butterfly metamorphosis. First, the butterfly lays eggs on a leaf. Next, the eggs hatch into a caterpillar. A caterpillar is called the larval form. Then, the caterpillar eats lots of food to store up energy for the next stage, the pupa stage. In the Pupa stage, the caterpillar makes a cocoon to protect it while it transforms into a butterfly. A butterfly is the adult stage of this metamorphosis. Challenge Question: Can you think of an animal that goes through metamorphosis? Answer: Frogs and other amphibians go through metamorphosis.

4 Mid-South Mammals: Match! Introduction: Begin by the Doe and fawn before entering the exhibit We are about to go on a special nature trail to see some animals that live here near us in the Mid- South. All of these animals are mammals. Mammals are animals that: Have hair or fur Produce milk to feed their young Give live birth. A live birth means the animal is not born in a shell like an egg. Are you a mammal? Do you have hair? Yes! Do mothers produce milk for babies? Yes! Are human babies born in eggs? No, humans have live births. You are a mammal! Now we are going to go look for some more mammals. I want you all to focus on mammal teeth keeping in mind what you learned in the skeleton gallery. Behind me are examples of incisors, canines, premolars, and molars. We are going to read information in the display then complete the activity as we look through the rest of the gallery. Instructions: Students will read the display on teeth in the case with the bat skeleton at the top of the ramp to the Mid-South Mammals exhibit to match each tooth type to its purpose. Then, students will look for the Elk, Coyote, Feral Dog, and Feral Cat to examine their teeth. They can choose to write about any 3 of the 4. This is the activity with pictures of 4 different teeth and 4 definitions. Read about the types of teeth in the display with the date skeleton. Then, match each picture of each tooth to its purpose. Next, look for the animals that you can see their teeth. Write down what type of teeth those animals have in the diagram on your page. Animal names go on the left, the type of teeth they have go in the box on the right. Answer:

5 The elk has prominent incisors as well and molars and pre-molars. Students should at least answer incisors. Coyote and Feral Dog have prominent canines as well as incisors, premolars, and molars. Students should at least answer canines. The Feral cat has one visible canine tooth. Conclusion: Now that we are done with our mammal search, let s review. Do all of the animals on your list have fur? Yes! You may not know this but all the animals on your list produce milk to feed their young. Do any of the animals on your list lay eggs? No! This means all the animals on your list are what? Mammals! Can anyone name an animal that is not a mammal? Answer: Bird, reptiles, and amphibians are not mammals. They all lay eggs, lack fur, and do not nurse their young. Challenge Question: Which animals have prominent incisors and molars; herbivores or carnivores? Which animals have prominent canine and premolars? Answer: Herbivores have prominent incisors and molars for stripping leaves off plants and grinding them up. Carnivores have prominent canines and premolars for attacking, tearing, and shearing the meat of their prey. Geology: Search! Introduction: Begin by the large, low display that has 3 large mineral samples in it. We are now in the geology gallery. Geology is the study of rocks and minerals. Someone who studies geology is called a geologist. There are many types of rocks and minerals so geologists had to come up with some ways to sort all the rocks and minerals they found. Geologist use color, luster, hardness, heft, streak, and special properties like magnetism and fluorescence to classify samples. Geologists study rocks and minerals all around the world. Studying rocks and minerals from different places helps us learn more about how the Earth formed, what the Earth is made of, and what resources different parts of the Earth can provide for us. Instructions: Students will look at the geology display cases focusing on the 5 cases behind the low display and the spheres case. Students will search the gallery for minerals from different countries. Each mineral has a tag under it listing its name and where it was found. Now we are going to do a searching activity. This is the activity with the chart numbered 1,2,3,4. You are going to look in the 5 cases right here during this activity and the case of spheres around the corner. You must look at the labels under each mineral and search for minerals from different countries. Some labels list continent names and some labels list the names of countries. Ask your

6 friends for help if you can t find minerals from 4 DIFFERENT countries, they can t all be from the same country! Answer: Students should focus their search on the cases labeled 1-5 and the Spheres case labeled with an S on this map. There are multiple examples of minerals from around the world displayed in each case. Some labels list continent names and others list countries within those continents. Conclusion: There were lots of different minerals on display here. What were some similarities between the minerals you noticed? What are some differences? Answer: Answers can include anything that refers back to the classifications used by geologists (color, luster, hardness, and heft). Challenge Question: Why are some minerals only found in one part of the world? Answer: Minerals need the right environmental conditions and the right chemicals to form. If a region does not have the right chemical makeup and the right conditions to form, that mineral will not form in that area. The diversity of rocks and minerals around the world occurs due to the diversity of environmental conditions and chemicals.

7 Dinosaur &Mosasaur: Learn! Introduction: Begin by Dinosaur tracks on the ground before you enter the Dinosaur gallery. We are about to start a journey through time and our journey begins by learning about fossils. Fossils are the remains or traces of creatures that lived in the past. There are two types of Fossils. The first type of fossil is a remain. A fossil remain is formed from something that was once a part of a creatures body like its bones. The second type of fossil is a trace fossil. A trace fossil is a fossil that was never a part of a creature s body but was made by the creature. Examples of trace fossils are dinosaur foot prints, dinosaur egg shells, and coprolite (CAH-pro-lite). Coprolite is a fancy word for dino poop! We are going to examine the fossils of a Mosasaur, a mammoth, and a mastodon. Each time you look at a fossil, think about if it is a trace fossil or a remain. Instructions: This is a two part activity. For the first part, students will need to read the labels under the giant mosasaur fossil displayed on the wall and write down three facts. For the second part of the activity, students will look and read about the fossils at the foot of the mammoth. They will then fill out a Venn diagram comparing and contrasting the ancient elephant ancestors. This is the activity with a Venn diagram. Your job for this activity is to collect facts from reading labels in the exhibit. The first activity asks you to read the labels about the Mosasaur and write down 3 facts you learn from reading the label. The second part of the activity asks you to read the labels by the mammoth and figure out how the mammoth and the mastodon were similar and how they were different. Answer: Write 3 facts about the Mosasuar: Lizards or Marine Reptiles, not Dinosaurs Evolved during the Late Cretaceous period 85 million years ago Mosasaur means Maas Lizard named after an area of the Netherlands. Shaped like a fish and swam like a fish. Had a slim body, long flattened tail, webbed, paddle-like feet with scales and bony plates. Breathed with lungs Common worldwide and lived in hallow sea areas Could grow to be over 15m (50ft) long Remains found in Kansas and other southern states Extinct at the end of the Cretaceous Period Closest living relative is the monitor lizard

8 Conclusion: The fossils of the Mosasaur, the Mammoth, and the Mastodon were all examples of fossil remains. Can anyone give me an example of a trace fossil? Answers will vary. There are many imprints and caste throughout the gallery that are classified as trace fossils. The first panel behind the dinosaur foots prints has many excellent definitions and examples. Challenge Question: Why do you think that there are no mammoths and mastodons anymore? Answer: Scientist have a few ideas about why these creatures went extinct. The large, hairy body of the these creatures was not a good adaptation to the changing climate. These animals did not adapt fast enough to their rapidly changing environment (cold to hot) so they died out. Ancient people hunted these animals. These animals had few predators before people began hunting them so they were not afraid of people and were hunted to extinction. Introduction: Optional Let s see what everyone remembers from our visit. Review 1. An animal that hunts other animals for food is called a Predator. 2. An animal that a predator hunts is called Prey. 3. An animal that eats plants is a Herbivore. 4. An animal that eats meat is a Carnivore. 5. Butterflies go through stages of a transformation process called Metamorphosis. 6. The three parts of a butterfly s body are the Head, Thorax, and Abdomen. 7. Mammals all have three things in common. One, mammals have fur/hair 8. Two, mammals produce milk for their young 9. Three, mammals give live birth. 10. Someone who studies rocks is called a Geologist. 11. There are two types of fossils, trace and remains. A fossil that was once part of a creature s body is a Remain. 12. A fossil that was not a part of a creature s body but was left behind by a creature from the past is a Trace fossil.