North Seattle Community College 2011
GEOL 106 Dinosaurs
Burke Museum Field Trip
Instructor Dr. Tom Braziunas
PART 1 – A TOUR
A short walk through a long past! We will walk backwards through the “LIFE & TIMES” exhibit to
set the stage for our team adventures later. (15 minutes)
PART 2 – GATHERING DATA
Team up and take one or more of the following adventures. Compose a brief report (one page).
Address the questions asked and add in whatever other intriguing information you find as well.
(30 minutes)
1.
2.
3.
4.
BEFORE THE DINOSAURS: EARLY DAYS ON EARTH
WHAT DO DINOSAUR BONES TELL US?
CSI MESOZOIC: LOOKING FOR THE “SMOKING GUNS”!
FAMOUS FOSSILS OF THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST
 Regroup at the Kansan Xiphactinis and the Washington fossil sea star at 10:45 AM
PART 3 – REPORTING BACK
SHARE your adventure(s) by leading us to what you found. Either you or I will read your report as
you point out features that it refers to. (45 minutes)
GEOL 106 Dinosaurs
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North Seattle Community College 2011
GEOL 106 DINOSAURS
BURKE MUSEUM EXPLORATION #1
GROUP: _____________________________________________________________
BEFORE THE DINOSAURS: EARLY DAYS ON EARTH
Set the stage for our trip through time by finding answers to the following questions:
1. Geology Basics
a.
b.
c.
d.
How old is the Earth?
What are its major “eras” and “periods”?
Can you think of any way for us to remember the names of the periods?
What types of events separate Earth’s history into distinct eras?
2. Early Life … and Death!
a.
b.
c.
d.
What types of fossils do we find in pre-dinosaur times?
When did evidence of life first become preserved in abundance, and why?
are the major eras separated
It turns out that the dinosaur extinction was not the greatest extinction in Earth history.
When did the greatest extinction occur?
e. How much greater was this extinction than the dinosaur extinction?
f. What were some of the creatures that went extinct?
3. Plate Tectonics
a. What is the name of the supercontinent at the start of dinosaur times?
b. What is the physical and biological evidence for this supercontinent?
c. When we look at the biological evidence on display, we can tell that the fossil is not a
dinosaur because of the design of its limbs. What tells us that this is not a dinosaur?
4. Volcanoes
a.
b.
c.
d.
What is the “Ring of Fire” and what geologic situation causes it?
What type of volcanoes do we find in this state and why are some so dangerous?
What five volcanoes are closest to us and which three have erupted most recently?
What are some minerals and rocks associated with volcanoes? How do they form?
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North Seattle Community College 2011
GEOL 106 DINOSAURS
BURKE MUSEUM EXPLORATION #2
GROUP: _____________________________________________________________
WHAT DO DINOSAUR BONES TELL US?
The dinosaurs of the Morrison Formation in the Western U.S. are many people’s favorites!
Help us with anatomy as we study these dinosaur skeletons on display by finding answers
to the following questions:
1. Anatomy Basics
a.
b.
c.
d.
What is the anatomical term for the large dinosaur leg bone on display?
What major group of dinosaurs does this leg bone belong to?
About how many times larger or smaller is it than the same human bone?
What feature(s) of dinosaur anatomy make this dinosaur a “dinosaur”?
2. Dinosaur Groups: Stegosaurus vs. Allosaurus
a.
b.
c.
d.
Which of the two main groups of dinosaurs does each of these dinosaurs belong to?
How do we know this? Name and point out the bones that tell us this (in a sketch).
What type of meal did each of these dinosaurs eat? Which bones tell us this?
Compare upper and lower hind limb length in each skeleton. Is there a relationship that
might tie into how fast these dinosaurs could move?
e. Please explain the relationship you hypothesize using the names of these bones.
3. Stego Clues
a. Plates: How are they attached to this animal? What might they be useful for, and what
might they NOT be useful for?
b. Spikes: These comprise the “thagomizer”! Are they oriented correctly? What function
might they have served?
c. Brains: How “smart” were stegos, and why? What feature(s) suggest that a stego had a
“saving after-thought” and what might this feature represent instead?
4. Allo Clues
a. Posture: Is this dinosaur’s posture “correct”? How would the orientation of its tail have
differed in paleontologists’ earlier idea of its posture?
b. Skull: What are some of the skull features (besides teeth) which would have helped
this dinosaur handle its dinner?
c. Arms & hands: What do these features tell us about the activities of this dino?
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North Seattle Community College 2011
GEOL 106 DINOSAURS
BURKE MUSEUM EXPLORATION #3
GROUP: _____________________________________________________________
CSI MESOZOIC: LOOKING FOR THE SMOKING GUNS!
Fossils are more than just bones. How much of the Mesozoic world can we reconstruct from other
clues left behind?
1. Beyond the bones: Footprints
a. Does the Allosaurus footprint, by itself, preserve any evidence of dinosaur appearance?
b. How does a theropod footprint differ from those of other dinosaurs?
c. What information might we collect if we had a whole trackway to examine?
2. Beyond the bones: Eggs
a. How many eggs are in the clutch of this Troodon?
b. Do you think this dinosaur was an r-strategist or a K-strategist? Why?
3. Beyond the bones: Feathers
a. Besides feathers, what features of the Archaeopteryx are “bird-like”?
b. What features of the Archaeopteryx are “dinosaur-like”?
c. To which group of dinosaurs do birds belong?
d. Why do you think that this fossil (replica) would be so well preserved such that you can
see its feathers?
4. Beyond the bones: Plants
a. Notice the vegetation painted on the Jurassic landscape behind the dinosaur skeletons.
What plants living today are missing from this mural?
b. What are some ways by which we would know what specific dinosaurs ate?
c. Where do we find plant fossils in Washington State as shown by examples on display?
5. Beyond the bones: Tooth marks
a. Find the tooth marks on the ammonite shell. Where did they come from?
b. How would we tell whether these marks came from a mosasaur (painted on the wall) or
a pleisiosaur like Elasmosaurus (dangling above your head!)?
c. Are these long-necked marine reptiles dinosaurs? Why?
6. Beyond the bones: Mass extinction
a. What event may have caused the extinction of the dinosaurs (as displayed here)?
b. Why can we eliminate causes that would only explain the extinction of the dinos alone?
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North Seattle Community College 2011
GEOL 106 DINOSAURS
BURKE MUSEUM EXPLORATION #4
GROUP: _____________________________________________________________
FAMOUS FOSSILS OF THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST
Take the Washington State fossil map and find examples of some of the famous fossils depicted
on it. Report briefly on each one by answering the questions below.
1.
The Chuckanut flora & Eocene fauna
a. What was Washington’s climate and landscape like shortly after the end of dino times?
b. What types of marine fossils do we find and what do they tell us about climate here?
c. What types of terrestrial fossils are found on the slab from the slope of Mt. Baker?
2. The Ginkgo Petrified Forest
a. When, where and how did the Ginkgo Petrified Forest form?
b. How does wood “petrify”? What type of minerals do we find in petrified wood?
c. What types of trees were around at the time of this forest, and what do they tell us
about the climate?
3. The incredible Blue Lake Rhino
a. What is the story behind how this animal died and its remains preserved?
b. What makes the “Blue Lake Rhino” cave so unique? In what types of rock do we usually
find fossils? In what type of rock did this cave form?
c. What was found in the cave that helped convince paleontologists of its origin?
4. The Olympic mastodon and mammoth fossils
a. Both mastodons and mammoths lived here during the Ice Ages. Find the two different
jaws of these elephant relatives and explain how the jaws differ.
b. The landscape of Discovery Park looked much like the glacial diorama we experience in
the exhibit! Describe what you see (and read).
c. How high was the ice sheet over Seattle when it was largest? How do we know?
d. Name some of the features of Seattle which are the result of these Ice Age glaciers.
5. The famous SeaTac sloth
a. Are this sloth’s teeth preserved? What do they tell us about its diet?
b. From their appearance, how might its forelimbs and hands have been used?
c. Might humans have encountered these sloths? When did humans first inhabit North
America and how did they get here?
d. What period of time do we live in today and what makes it special?
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