Explore Mythic Creatures with a Field Journal

Working independently or in small groups, have students choose one of these three open-ended investigations. You can download a PDF of these investigations at education.amnh.org/mythiccreatures.

1. Discover a Creature
Find a creature that is unfamiliar to you. Record the name and age of an object that depicts this creature, the culture it is associated with, where it was found, and what it is made of. Describe and draw it. Why did you choose this creature? Are there any similarities between this creature and other mythic creatures that you were already familiar with?

2. Animal I.D.
Pick a creature in the exhibition. Record the name and age of an object that depicts this creature, the culture it is associated with, where it was found, and what it is made of. List the real animal parts that make up this creature. What are the traits of these animals? What might these traits tell you about the behavior and meaning of this mythic creature?

3. Different Dragons
Find one dragon from an Asian culture and one dragon from a European culture. Record the name and age of an object that depicts each dragon, the culture it is associated with, where it was found, and what it is made of. Describe how the dragons are shown. Do dragons mean different things to Asian and European cultures? How do you know?