More About This Resource...

• In this classroom activity, created to complement the Museum's Dinosaurs: Ancient Fossils, New Discoveries exhibit, middle school students gain an understanding of geologic time.

  • The activity opens with background information for teachers about carbon and radiometric dating.
  • In a classroom discussion, students share what they know about geologic time.
  • Then, working in small groups responsible for different eras, students create a timeline for their assigned era by conducting library and Internet research.
  • The activity concludes by having students review all the timelines to compare how long humans have been on the Earth to the length of time dinosaurs inhabited the planet.

• Completion Time

  Approximately 1 period

• Topic

  Paleontology

• Subtopic

  General

• Subtopic

  National Science Education Standards
  Grades 5-8:
  Science as Inquiry CONTENT STANDARD A: 

  • abilities necessary to do scientific inquiry• understanding about scientific inquiry

  Science and Technology CONTENT STANDARD E: 

  • abilities of technological design

  History and Nature of Science CONTENT STANDARD G: 

  • science as a human endeavor• nature of science

• Learning Standard

  National Science Education Standards
  Grades 5-8:
  Science as Inquiry CONTENT STANDARD A: 

  • abilities necessary to do scientific inquiry• understanding about scientific inquiry

  Science and Technology CONTENT STANDARD E: 

  • abilities of technological design

  History and Nature of Science CONTENT STANDARD G: 

  • science as a human endeavor• nature of science