Material Detail

CDE Science Standards for 7th Grade (EARTH AND LIFE HISTORY 4E) state that students should know that fossils provide evidence of how life and environmental conditions have changed. Researchers have been searching for fossils for years in order to better understand how things have changed. Recently, in an effort to improve their chances, the museum researchers have turned their attention to orbiting satellites. Using the images these satellites produce of the Earth, researcher Mike Novacek and his team have found a way to locate potential fossil beds before they even set foot in the desert. Already their efforts uncovered one site last year that produced several good specimens. In the future they hope the images will not only cut down on the time they spend trekking around the desert, but will also ensure that they never stop retrieving remarkable specimens from the reddish-brown sandstone of the Gobi. Enjoy as an effective anticipatory set to a 7th grade science lesson.

Disciplines:

• Education  / TeacherEd  / Teaching Methods  / Science