In this workshop, you'll put yourselves in the shoes of a paleontologist. You'll investigate real dinosaur bones, eggs, footprints and other traces. By feeling, comparing and putting things together, you’ll learn about the age of the dinosaurs. View dinosaurs in the museum and ponder questions that not even scientists know all the answers to. To round off the workshop, you'll dig up your own dino era fossil.
Everything you need to knowin a row
- Workshop
- Target group: special and secondary special education, vocational education (ages 12 and older)
- Level: groups 5 & 6 (ages 8-10)
- Length: 90-120 minutes (TBD by mutual agreement)
- Number of pupils: no more than 24
- Number of supervisors supplied by Naturalis: 2
- Number of supervisors supplied by the school: TBD by mutual agreement
- Areas: workshop Past, Dinosaur Era gallery
- Objectives: Pupils are introduced to the work of a paleontologist: digging, preparing, putting things together, investigating, reconstructing and debating. Pupils learn how scientists think and find out that they don't always agree with each other.
- Keywords: excavation, paleontologist, fossils, research, dinosaurs, skeleton
Preparingand processing
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Course of the programin the museum
The program consists of three parts. The schedule given below is an indication only.
0-45 minutes: workshop Past
The pupils are given a brief introduction to the work paleontologists do in the field. Next, the pupils divide into small groups to study a real-life dino fossil in a carousel. Afterwards, they test their new knowledge by taking a quiz.
45-75 minutes: Dinosaur Era gallery
In their small groups, the pupils will set out to discover the dino era. The education assistant will give them scavenger hunt cards to help them get started. Each scavenger hunt card asks you to find a specific dinosaur in the gallery and to carry out a related task. The adults supervising the small groups will be given the scavenger hunt cards (sometimes with the answer) and will guide the pupils when needed.
75-90 minutes: workshop Past
Pupils will work to free a small dino era fossil from the surrounding rock, clean it, study what it is and take it home with them.
Booking infoprepare your visit
Everything you need to know about practical matters such as parking, lockers and house rules.
