Post by auntym on May 29, 2011 11:38:35 GMT -6
www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/05/24/scitech/main20065666.shtml?tag=cbsnewsMainColumnArea
May 24, 2011 10:14 AM
4th-graders discover 11,500-year-old mastodon hair
By Wynne Parry
Fourth grade scientists in action, sifting through dirt from a mastodon excavation. (Linda Azaroff)
(Livescience.com)
Earlier this year, Linda Azaroff's fourth-grade class received a 2.2-pound (1-kilogram) box containing what one student described as a "clump of dirt."
But this wasn't just any dirt — it was sediment, or matrix, collected from a backyard in Hyde Park, N.Y., in 2000, where a project to deepen a backyard pond uncovered the remains of a mastodon — an extinct elephantlike animal. Working under a deadline, but not wanting to miss any important pieces, excavators carted away about 22,000 pounds (10,000 kg) of matrix from around the bones, more than they could realistically sort through in the years to come. (25 Amazing Ancient Beasts)
The excavators turned to citizen scientists volunteering for the Mastodon Matrix Project, which enlists school classes, hobbyists, families and other volunteers scour the matrix from mastodon excavations. Since 2008 alone, more than 3,500 participants from around the U.S. have worked on matrix from Hyde Park.
"One of the huge limiting things form a scientific standpoint is we often don't have the staff time either from interns or scientists themselves to go through all of this stuff," said Carlyn Buckler, an education and outreach associate at the Paleontological Research Institution (PRI), which operates the Mastodon Matrix Project. "The more data we can get, the more complete a picture we will come up with about the environment."
This approach isn't unique; students and other citizen scientists can contribute their time and effort to a variety of projects, from recording road kill to counting stars. In return, volunteers get hands-on experience with science and the chance to contribute to real research projects.
Fourth-grade paleontologists
Now the fourth-graders at Landisville Intermediate Center in Pennsylvania had a chance to become paleontologists, and they had plenty of expectations about what they would find in the matrix.
"I thought we'd find some teeth," said Ian Stringer. "I thought we were going to find some small bones and wings of a butterfly, maybe," said Nolan Deck. "Plants or leaves and sticks," said Melissa Grube.
The matrix arrived with a set of instructions that guided the class through the same basic process — such as sifting through samples with their fingers and toothpicks — professional paleontologists would use as they searched for bits of the 11,500-year-old mastodon along with shells, twigs, seeds and other fossils. The finds were weighed, bagged and returned to PRI in New York.
A fourth-grade class doesn’t typically have the most sophisticated scientific equipment, but the students were armed with plastic magnifying glasses.
"We found these tiny shells that were swirly and white," said Caitlyn Cazad during a Skype video interview with LiveScience. "Some of them would break easily."
"I found a big stick, it looked a little like a root, it had little things coming off it," said Jack Reichler.
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May 24, 2011 10:14 AM
4th-graders discover 11,500-year-old mastodon hair
By Wynne Parry
Fourth grade scientists in action, sifting through dirt from a mastodon excavation. (Linda Azaroff)
(Livescience.com)
Earlier this year, Linda Azaroff's fourth-grade class received a 2.2-pound (1-kilogram) box containing what one student described as a "clump of dirt."
But this wasn't just any dirt — it was sediment, or matrix, collected from a backyard in Hyde Park, N.Y., in 2000, where a project to deepen a backyard pond uncovered the remains of a mastodon — an extinct elephantlike animal. Working under a deadline, but not wanting to miss any important pieces, excavators carted away about 22,000 pounds (10,000 kg) of matrix from around the bones, more than they could realistically sort through in the years to come. (25 Amazing Ancient Beasts)
The excavators turned to citizen scientists volunteering for the Mastodon Matrix Project, which enlists school classes, hobbyists, families and other volunteers scour the matrix from mastodon excavations. Since 2008 alone, more than 3,500 participants from around the U.S. have worked on matrix from Hyde Park.
"One of the huge limiting things form a scientific standpoint is we often don't have the staff time either from interns or scientists themselves to go through all of this stuff," said Carlyn Buckler, an education and outreach associate at the Paleontological Research Institution (PRI), which operates the Mastodon Matrix Project. "The more data we can get, the more complete a picture we will come up with about the environment."
This approach isn't unique; students and other citizen scientists can contribute their time and effort to a variety of projects, from recording road kill to counting stars. In return, volunteers get hands-on experience with science and the chance to contribute to real research projects.
Fourth-grade paleontologists
Now the fourth-graders at Landisville Intermediate Center in Pennsylvania had a chance to become paleontologists, and they had plenty of expectations about what they would find in the matrix.
"I thought we'd find some teeth," said Ian Stringer. "I thought we were going to find some small bones and wings of a butterfly, maybe," said Nolan Deck. "Plants or leaves and sticks," said Melissa Grube.
The matrix arrived with a set of instructions that guided the class through the same basic process — such as sifting through samples with their fingers and toothpicks — professional paleontologists would use as they searched for bits of the 11,500-year-old mastodon along with shells, twigs, seeds and other fossils. The finds were weighed, bagged and returned to PRI in New York.
A fourth-grade class doesn’t typically have the most sophisticated scientific equipment, but the students were armed with plastic magnifying glasses.
"We found these tiny shells that were swirly and white," said Caitlyn Cazad during a Skype video interview with LiveScience. "Some of them would break easily."
"I found a big stick, it looked a little like a root, it had little things coming off it," said Jack Reichler.
TO CONTINUE READING CLICK ON ABOVE LINK