Outreach

Collaboration with St. Louis Science Center, Fall 2007

The St. Louis Science Center organized an experiential field trip for families and friends. They came to Principia College to
(1) tour the mammoth excavation site and our bone preparation lab,
(2) learn about our field and lab techniques in working with skeletal remains,
(3) learn about mammoths, and
(4) do some hands-on activities.
Some of my students participated as tour guides and activity directors.

Teachers Workshops

Two workshops have been offered to K-12 teachers in Illinois and the St. Louis area:

“Woolly Mammoth Comes Alive for K-12 Teachers”

Principia College
Elsah, IL
April 3, 2004

Illinois Science Teachers' Association Annual Convention
Bloomington, IL
July 13, 2004

The workshops attracted 40 teachers who thoroughly enjoyed participating in hands-on activities and watching demonstrations that covered the following topics:

•  Mammoths

•  The Ice Age

•  Radiocarbon dating

•  Basic principles about fossils, correlations, and reading the soil/rock record

Those participating in the on-campus workshop were able to visit Principia's mammoth excavation and bone preparation lab. Teachers went home with a CD of descriptions of and instructions for all of the activities including worksheets and answer keys, a PowerPoint presentation on radiocarbon dating, lists of web sites and children's literature on the topics, and other curriculum ideas prepared by both scientists and teachers.

Several of the teachers have already taught a unit on mammoths to their classes and brought them on a field trip to our site. You should hear their comments when they finally get to see the excavation and the bones in the lab! They come bubbling over with well-informed questions.