Today in class, after they had read about careers as a pleontologist and bone detective, Earth Science students discovered what it could really be like to have to compare different out crops of layers of earth to try to come up with a complete geologic column. Students looked at for different layers of rocks (out crops), some which had unconformities (meaning there were some layers that eroded away and left them with an incomplete picture). They had to piece together what they had left to come up with a more complete picture of the fossil record and geologic history of that area.
As the process began students realized that it wasn't as easy as it looked. Some groups found that they had trouble matching layers because they didn't bother to sketch them thoroughly, other groups made good sketches, but found it time consuming, and still other groups found it difficult to piece everything together with missing information.
Hopefully, through this activity students have gained slightly more appreciation for what scientists do, as well as a better understanding of superposition, geologic columns, and dating of fossils. (Pictures will be posted ASAP)
