Meeting Pattern

• July 15 [8:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.] ND Heritage Center and State Museum
• July 16 [7:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.] Field trip to fossil site in Morton County to discover and collect fossils from the Age of Dinosaurs

Description

The fossil record provides valuable information about past environments and life in North Dakota that is key to understanding our modern ecosystem and how it will respond to ongoing and future changes. This course will provide participants with a deeper understanding of how fossils are formed, how paleontologists discover and interpret the fossil record, and what the fossil record teaches us about the world around us. Participants will join paleontologists in the field on the second day of this course and gain first-hand experience discovering and collecting fossils from the Age of Dinosaurs. 

Syllabus, Objectives, and Outcomes

Objectives:

• To understand the basic surface geology of the state of North Dakota.
• To become familiar with the process of fossil formation.
• To become familiar with the variety of animal fossils present in the south-central portion of North Dakota.
• To understand the process of determining the age of fossils.
• To become familiar with the patterns of paleontological history, the paleoenvironment, and paleo animal life of the south-central portion of North Dakota.
• To understand and employ the methods and use appropriate tools to recover, prepare, and preserve fossils.

Required Student Resources:

Appropriate field clothes for spending a hot summer day in the sun during the field trip.