Bone Up for Fossil Day!
t’s National Fossil Day! The Smithsonian’s National
Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C., celebrated a little early: their Family Fossil and Dinosaur
Festival took place this past Saturday, October 10. Thousands of kids—and many scientists—from across the United States. The daylong event featured paleontologists and fossil experts, all of whom had come to the nation’s capital to teach young people about fossils and what they can tell us about the planet.
The tour started in a room called Q?rius (pronounced curious), where there were lots of hands-on activities. One thing that was there was called “Fossils in Resin and Rocks,” where they learned about amber, the gemstone that preserves plants and animals. Scientist Finnegan Marsh, from NMNI even put my finger under the microscope to see my fingerprint. They even put finger under the microscope to see fingerprint. Other scientists brought in really rare fossils for kids and parents to touch and enjoy. Kate Lyons and Pete Wagner, from NMNH, brought in a sabretooth tiger’s skull, bones, and teeth. They also had a giant beaver’s two front teeth.
A “Sifting for Fossils” station was set up in the Q?rius Lab. they were able to sift through sand to uncover small fossils. With the help of a key some was able to identify the fossils, some of which It was allowed to keep! They included coral, Astarte and cyclocardia clams, a turritella snail, and a Requiem shark tooth.
At the museum’s selfie station, I dressed up in a hat that paleontologists wear while working outdoors.
They held a magnifying glass to their eye, and Lucas, one of the helpers at the station, held up a fake dinosaur bone right next to them. At 12:00 PM, along with 30 other kids took the Junior Paleontologist Pledge. They all received a shiny gold paleontologist badge and a certificate. Then they could have met with Charlotte, a six-year-old Junior Paleontologist. She had a big job for a little kid. For the...