December 2004

Kids get hands-on experiences with Science K-12 Outreach

K-12 Outreach staff members Bill Bayley, Steve Smith and Bill Walker visited Sycamore School in Indianapolis to work with fourth-grade students on a paleontological dig.

Students were paleontologists for the day, working on a dig site created by Science Outreach Coordinators and Purdue students on the school playground. They could hardly believe it as bones were slowly unearthed from the dig-site. One student was amazed as he pulled a large skull from the ground.

Digging for bones in the school’s back yard was part of a science class project for Sycamore School. Purdue provided the materials and guidance as pupils dug through the mulch, without knowing what they would find.

“You can teach them things in the classroom, and they will learn,” Sycamore assistant teacher Debbie Wacker said. “But something like this, they will never forget.”

Purdue K-12 Outreach Coordinators and Purdue students laid the bones out on a boxed-in tarp before dumping about 2 feet of mulch on top, and then discussed the finer points of plotting out a dig site and unearthing the skeleton with the class. Three students were assigned to a portion of the dig site and handed their tools: rakes, shovels and brushes. They also got dustpans to scoop and sift through the mulch before dumping it in buckets to be carted away.

“Whoa, look at this,” said one. “That’s a pretty big bone. Is it a pelvis?” replied another.
The students carefully removed the pelvis and marked on their clipboard its location within the grid.
“We found a rib cage, and it was big, like it belonged to a basketball player,” said another student.
When all the bones were found, Outreach Coordinators gathered the students at a blue tarp and watched as they tried to piece together the skeleton. Starting with the skull, they built the spine and then laid out the four legs. It was difficult for them to guess what animal they had just unearthed. Was it a moose or deer, as one kid suggested?

“What is this?” asked an Outreach Coordinator, holding a piece of the skeleton high. “A hoof,” they responded, followed by a chorus of kids who correctly guessed it was a horse.

The horse skeleton travels from school to school across Indiana. The Horse Dig and similar activities are available to schools in support of the College of Science Strategic Plan for Engagement, which includes collaborating with K-12 students and teachers to increase interest and achievement in science and mathematics at the pre-college level.

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K-12 Outreach in Biological Sciences, Mathematics, and Chemistry hosted 100 fourth and fifth graders from Burnett Creek Elementary school. The students participated in a “Focus Visit” which included a shark dissection and a variety of activities to promote inquiry-based science learning.

The Biology Department’s “Focus Visits” welcome elementary, middle, and high school students and their teachers to engage in hands-on learning activities designed to excite and stimulate student's interest in the biological sciences.

During their visit, students observed a shark dissection, studied the anatomy and physiology of sharks, and discussed how sharks are related to other animals. In addition, the students participated in several hands-on activities designed to enhance their scientific inquiry skills.

• Students studied the relationship between buoyancy and density as they designed aluminum foil boats that would carry a maximum weight.

• Super Spinners were constructed to demonstrate an inquiry based approach to the Scientific Method. Simple paper spinners are used to teach the students how to develop and test a hypothesis.

• Students also participated in a density activity. Students use different saltwater solutions to understand the chemical and physical properties of density. Students use simple tools to discover a relationship between the different solutions.

For more information on these “Focus Visits” and other College of Science K-12 Outreach activities, please visit the Purdue University College of Science website.

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