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The weather cooperated with the diggers today – partly cloudy and in the 80s with a breeze. Perfect day for digging and it was a busy one.
The first time dig teachers joined the returning teachers at the dig site today. There are 6 new diggers, and they got right in there for their chance to find a bone. The new diggers were paired up with experienced diggers so they could learn the ropes. We have quite a wealth of experience on the dig this year – 11 returning diggers with 38 years of collective Children’s Museum dig experience between them. Wow! They have spent a lot of time searching for bones.
The new diggers are eager to talk with the returners to learn how they incorporate dinosaurs and their dig trips into their classrooms. Each teacher uses the knowledge they have gained on the dig in a different way. The conversations will continue on the Teacher Community of Inquiry after the 2010 dig is completed.
Some of the larger bones found earlier in the dig need to be uncovered so that field jackets can be applied before they can be removed from the ground. This requires a lot of work as the earth above and behind the bones must be removed. Several diggers spent a good portion of their day bringing down the walls of dirt. Often, when the walls come tumbling down other bones are discovered in the wall.
Dallas and William – "the paleo guys” were busy today recording, mapping, and pulling bones out of the ground. The bone count for Monday was 23 – among them a nano tooth! This is the second nano tooth found this year and is from the Nanotryannus (‘dwarf tyrant’) a genus of tyrannosaurid dinosaur, and is possibly a juvenile specimen of Tyrannosaurus. One of the other unique bones found today was a coudal vertebra with part of the spine still attached. Several other bones had field jackets applied and will be removed from the ground in the morning.
The teachers have one more day of digging and then we’ll have to say goodbye until next year.
