How Palaeontologists Work
Describe how palaeontologists work in the field and lab: prospecting for exposed fossils, careful excavation with hand tools, plaster jacketing for transport, preparation in the lab, and scientific description and publication
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Teaching Table
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“Can your child describe the steps a palaeontologist goes through from first spotting a fossil in a cliff to it ending up on display in a museum?”
Full guide and materials
- Activity. Describe how palaeontologists work in the field and lab: prospecting for exposed fossils, careful excavation with hand tools, plaster jacketing for transport, preparation in the lab, and scientific description and publication
What to notice. List the main stages: prospecting, excavation, jacketing, transport, preparation, study, display • Explain why careful excavation with small tools is necessary to avoid damaging the fossil • Describe plaster jacketing as wrapping fossils in plaster for safe transport to a lab
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Can your child describe the steps a palaeontologist goes through from first spotting a fossil in a cliff to it ending up on display in a museum?
Describe how palaeontologists work in the field and lab: prospecting for exposed fossils, careful excavation with hand tools, plaster jacketing for transport, preparation in the lab, and scientific description and publication
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Check understanding
- List the main stages: prospecting, excavation, jacketing, transport, preparation, study, display
- Explain why careful excavation with small tools is necessary to avoid damaging the fossil
- Describe plaster jacketing as wrapping fossils in plaster for safe transport to a lab
“Can your child describe the steps a palaeontologist goes through from first spotting a fossil in a cliff to it ending up on display in a museum?”
Curriculum record
- Type
- Procedural
- Subject
- Science
- Domain
- Dinosaurs & Paleontology
- Age range
- Ages 9–11