Day 4 T-Rex Centre, KT Boundary

Day 4 T-Rex Centre, KT Boundary

Today’s experience at the T-Rex discovery centre was an excellent opportunity for me to learn about an educational opportunity that has long been a part of Saskatchewan’s heritage, but about which I had known very little. 

This morning we, the participants in the SMA Geoventure tour, were treated to a tour of the T-Rex centre in Eastend Saskatchewan and had an opportunity to meet Scotty the Tyrannosaurus Rex (if you go be sure to ask how Scotty got her name!).  This was an excellent experience, and I believe would be valuable for a teacher and students learning about paleontology, geology, or Saskatchewan history (remember that there were billions of years of history before people showed up!).

The tour we went on focussed on three main areas.  First there was the general overview of the centre and its exhibits. The guides were very knowledgeable and provided an excellent overview of the prehistoric plants and animals that once inhabited Saskatchewan.  It was important to be reminded that the prairie geography we are so familiar with is not always the way it was.  Saskatchewan has been home to an interesting variety of flora and fauna over the last several hundred million years, and has drastically changed (several times) when studied on the geological time scale.    

The second experience at the T-Rex centre was a hands-on activity where we got to search for micro-fossils.  This was a fun experience and our group alternated between co-operation and competition to find interesting fossils.  As teachers we like hands-on experiences as much as students do, therefore an opportunity to get digging through the rocks and sand was welcome.  Fortunately we were only looking for microfossils so we got to do our studying inside at a table rather than outside in the heat, but still it was fun to be able to contribute, even if only for a few minutes, to the archeology work that goes on at the centre.

Finally our tour group had an opportunity to tour the lab where the fossils are being recovered and analyzed.  Tim Tokaryk, the curator of paleontology, was an excellent and informative host and guide.  The vertebrate paleontology at the centre has been his project for many years, and the dedication he shows to his work is evident.  He was very knowledgeable about the artifacts he has been working to uncover and study, and welcoming and personable when presenting them.  From Dinosaur teeth to dinosaur dung there is so much to see that if you have an opportunity to take a tour of the lab with him, it should not be missed.

The T-Rex Centre is operated by the Royal Saskatchewan Museum (the organization responsible for preserving Saskatchewan’s fossil heritage).  Currently entry is free, although the centre does welcome donations (and requests a $2 donation per student for school groups).  This centre would be an excellent place to visit for a high school science class and courses like Science 10, Environmental Science 20, and Earth Science 30 may particularly benefit.  Like most attractions in Saskatchewan, distance may prove to be a handicap to some.  Fortunately the centre does have paleontology kits that they are willing to send out to schools.  So, if a field trip is beyond your budget or beyond a reasonable distance, you should contact the centre for more information.

Although I have spoken at length about the T-Rex Centre, there were two other experiences today that were both of note.  The first was an opportunity to try Geocaching.  For those of you who, like me until today, don’t know much about what it is, Geocaching is using what you know about global positioning and maps to find hidden caches of “treasure”.  Geocaches have been hidden all over the world, and it is a fun way to explore and learn.  If you have an opportunity I strongly encourage you to find a geocache, write in the log, explore the artefacts within, and leave your own treasure for the next person to find.

Our final experience today was an opportunity to find the K-T boundary.  The K-T boundary is a layer of Iridium left behind by a meteor strike millions of years ago.  It is an important dividing line for geologists as no dinosaur fossils have been found above this line (although as we found out at the T-Rex discovery centre this is probably not the whole story behind the extinction of the dinosaurs).  Nevertheless it is a fascinating and visible reminder of Earth’s geological past.  The place where we went to look for the line was where the road cut was made in the Frenchman valley, but because this was a world-wide event it can be found anywhere where conditions are right.  It is thin, so it is not easy to find, but it is worth the experience when you do.

All together this has been a great day learning about the long prehistoric history of Saskatchewan.

Michael

P.S. by Scott Mitchell

Today was a great day on the Geoventure.  As a grade 4 teacher we talk about soil and erosion and I think the paleontologist activity that Michael referred to would be great for my students to see just what is contained in soil and the organic make up of it. 

Another very cool thing that we did today was we checked out the KT boundary(also which Micheal previously alluded to.  I took a sample of rock from this area and I cannot wait to talk to my students about what Saskatchewan was like before it was mostly flat boring farmland and about all of the very cool and exciting things that existed millions of years ago.  Amazing day I would recommend the Scotty T-Rex centre to anyone, science lover or not. Also her name is Scotty which is my name so how amazing is that?

P.P.S. By Sara Campbell

Today, like all of the other fantastic days we’ve had on this GeoVenture, was full of both useful and interesting information that I am excited to bring back to my grade 4 students. In grade 4 one of the science focuses is on rocks and minerals. After exploring the sand for fossils, and searching for the K2 boundary I have a new appreciation for what is under my feet, and my goal is to open my students’ eyes to the fascinating history of the rocks that they interact with at home, on the playground, while hiking, etc... 

The T-Rex Discovery Center provided great visuals and photo ops for me to take back to my classroom, and in the Gift Shop, I purchased a couple of gemstone sets to add to my science resources. At the K2 boundary I collected some samples from the ground, and cannot wait to tell my students that they are looking at residue from what could quite possibly be a major factor in the dinosaur extinction AND that those samples probably contain matter from outer space. WHOA!