DENVER MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY
PREHISTORIC JOURNEY SM:
TEACHER RESOURCES AND SCHOOL PROGRAMS

REBECCA L. SMITH

PREHISTORIC JOURNEY, the museum's newest permanent exhibition, offers students and teachers the opportunity to explore the history of life on Earth through spectacular fossil specimens, interactive exhibits, and re-created environments depicting crucial points in life's history. A rich array of educational resources and programs are offered in conjunction with this exhibition. Opportunities for K-12 students include guided and unguided visits for school groups, Classroom Adventures on prehistoric subjects, an outreach assembly program, and the Prehistoric Universe show in Gates Planetarium. Teacher resources include teacher workshops, the comprehensive Prehistoric Journey Educators' Sourcebook, the Prehistoric Journey Previsit Video for Teachers (including portions for students in Spanish), and the Prehistoric Journey: A History of Life on Earth exhibit book. Prehistoric Journey educational materials and programs are correlated with the Colorado Standards for Science Teaching. All of these resources and programs, ordering information, and registration procedures are described in the museum school brochure which is mailed to Colorado schools and teachers in August (with an update in January). If you are not currently receiving this brochure, please call (303) 370-6314 to be placed on the mailing list.

The Prehistoric Journey Educators' Sourcebook for K-College teachers contains extensive background information about the content and use of the exhibition, suggested self- guided tours, teaching tips (including special tips and resources for teaching about evolution), and related activities, glossary and resource lists. The activities are presented as part of investigation units, with each unit containing pre-, during, and post-museum visit activities. The Monster Math activity on the following pages is taken from the "How Do You Measure Up?" investigation unit. This unit, for grades K-4, correlates with Colorado Science Standards 3 and 4 and Math Standards as well. Through studying dinosaurs and other prehistoric organisms, students develop skills in measuring, estimating, comparing sizes, and expressing size comparison through art. For example, students use their own feet as units to measure a dinosaur footprint. In the exhibit they compare their heights to a giant palm frond and try to spread their arms as wide as a giant dragonfly's wingspan. The Monster Math activity lets students guess the actual sizes of some prehistoric animals. In addition, the activity has been designed to help students understand ratios and proportions. The teachers in our teacher workshops have had a lot of fun with this activity, and we hope you will too!

To purchase the Prehistoric Journey Educators' Sourcebook or the Prehistoric Journey: A History of Life on Earth exhibit book through the Museum Shop, please call (303) 370-6366.