Tell students to list adjectives that describe the skin of the animals pictured. This can be done the night before as a homework assignment, or it can be a class activity, just prior to drawing T. Students should be assigned to look at pictures of large reptiles (such as crocodiles, alligators, iguanas, and komodo dragons), large mammals (such as elephants and rhinos) and large birds (such as emus and ostriches). This may be more detailed than is needed for younger students, but will be interesting to older students who have a better understanding of anatomy.Ĭ. rex Soft Parts images (either superimposed on the skull photograph or skull drawing). Whichever method the instructor uses, you will need an image that you can project on a chalkboard.ī. The image can also be saved as a digital file from which a slide can be made at many photographic stores for use in a slide projector. rex skull page can be copied on an overhead transparency (make sure the correct kind of transparency sheet is used for your copier. If the instructor has access to a color copier, the T. Pdf file formats are provided for easy copying. The instructor needs to make an image of the T. rex soft parts on a drawing of the skullĪ. rex soft parts superimposed on the photograph of the skull If the photograph with soft parts does not copy well, a second image using a drawing of the skull, rather than a photo, can be seen by clicking here. ![]() The locations of muscles in this image are based upon illustrations in Horner and Lessem (1993), and Webster (1999) (see references). The soft parts of a fossil animal can be inferred based upon comparison of the skull to skulls of modern animals. You will need to make an overhead transparency from a copy of this image, or use a digital image copied to a slide, for the activity. ![]() rex skull, called "Stan." The cast is owned by Walter Gross, of Lexington, who graciously allowed us to use an image of the cast for this educational activity. rex skull and data they collect about modern animals. They will reconstruct what the most famous dinosaur, T. In this activity, students will be junior paleontologists. By studying the way the soft tissues, like muscles and skin, are attached or cover the bones of living animals, paleontologists can interpret how they may have attached or covered the bones of prehistoric animals. Others were large like elephants, and big mammals that live today. They compare the fossil bones to the bones of animals that live today. Paleontologists who study dinosaurs, analyze the fossilized dinosaur bones to determine how they fit together. Paleontologists are the scientists that study fossils. The study of fossils is called paleontology. But scientists can determine what dinosaurs looked like based on their fossils. Soft tissues, such as skin, muscles, and hair, generally are not preserved, because they rot or are eaten before the animal is fossilized.Īny picture of an ancient dinosaur in a book or movie is an artist's illustration of what the ancient creature looked like. In animals with backbones, called vertebrates, bones and teeth are generally the only parts of the animals that are fossilized. Most fossils represent the hard remains of ancient life. Pencil and crayons (optional) for studentsįossils are evidence of ancient life in rock.rex Worksheet (provided) copied for each student (pdf format provided) Overhead projector or slide projector (depending on which image you use).rex Soft Parts image from this exercise transferred to slide or overhead projector transparency (optional, pdf file formats provided) rex skull image from this exercise transferred to slide or overhead projector transparency (pdf file formats provided) Picture books of reptiles, large mammals (such as elephants and rhinos) and birds (ostriches, etc.).At the end of the activity, when the projected image is turned off, all that is left is a drawing of the mighty T. What they will see on the chalkboard is the projected image. ![]() Students follow along on their own worksheets. You do not need to be an artist to do this activity. rex on a chalkboard over a projected image of a T. rex), may have looked like when it was living. The instructor and students will use the appearance of modern animals to reconstruct what an ancient animal, a Tyrannosaurus rex ( T. The activity reinforces the concept that fossils are mostly the remains of hard parts of ancient life and integrates paleontology with biology. In this activity, students learn how scientists determine what prehistoric animals looked like based on their bones. ![]() Core content: Fossils are evidence of past life.
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