Module 7 Geologic Time
Resources
Additional activities, a behind-the-scenes gallery, recommended books, and more.
About this Guide
Travel in Time
Most people at some point in their lives wonder what it would have been like to live in some other time, a recent or distant past. We live in a time when visiting the past is more possible than ever. Whether it’s visiting an online natural history museum, reading the work of science historians, or immersing in augmented reality, it’s possible to adopt a point in time to study in depth. When our time seems a bit overwhelming, dipping into the past is eye-opening and rejuvenating.
Lesley
Additional Activities
Compelling art makes geologic time even more interesting.
Terrific Tourist Traps
They are easy to drive right by, but some of the most interesting museums are small handmade endeavors that receive little attention. Enthusiasts collect and make artifacts around a limited topic, in some cases presenting information in a unique and compelling manner. Look for the less traveled paths.
Dino Games
Children’s educational toys can range from educational and entertaining to really questionable; but dinosaur toys are unique in their quality and quantity. Models, simulated fossil dig kits, digital animations, and replicas can be high quality. Select a dinosaur group of interest and build an educational collection.
Adopting Clownfish
If you decide to get clownfish, go for hatchery raised fish. They have been bred to tolerate a wider range of conditions, don’t need the anemone hosts (which can be expensive and difficult to maintain) and the breeder can ship a bonded pair together.
Interpretive Signs
We spent many years zipping past the interpretive signs, but now really appreciate the time and thought put into these informative and often engaging displays. They maximize the potential experience by pointing out opportunities and potential hazards.
Found Objects
If you spend a lot of time outdoors, you are bound to find a lot of potential collectibles. The question is whether to keep them and if so, how to organize them so they are usable. Similar to constructing the portfolio for this course, organizing around themes or outcomes can reveal new relationships between objects.
Marine Tank
Thinking of setting up your own marine tank? It can be an expensive hobby and the best way to start is to get educated by people who know what they are doing. Online forums like Reef2Reef have large libraries of information and experts eager to assist. Local clubs often have swaps-and-shares, a great way to get inexpensive or even free invertebrates.
These are a few of the invertebrate animal species you have find in a marine tank, organized by Phylum.
Behind-the-Scenes
Minimal Impact
If fossils are not within a legal collection zone, photography is a great alternative.
Arranged Fossils
This slide contains a carefully placed arrangement of Formanifera, small snail-like protist species.
Face-to-Face
Full-sized models are an opportunity to view organisms from different perspectives, experiencing what it may have been like to interact with organisms of the past.
Journal for Everything
You can take it with you: capturing leaves, mini specimen bags, notes, receipts, and other ephemera between the pages.
The temperate rainforest along the Oregon Coast includes ferns and mosses similar to those found far back in the fossil record.
Sometimes it does feel like stepping back in time.
Missing Diving
Its been a few years since we’ve had a chance to “swim with the fishes,” but this course has us daydreaming up new diving adventures (with an underwater camera, of course).
Acclimating
With aquatic animals, slow acclimation to a new temperature and water chemistry is critical. This is the flame scallop our snowflake clownfish have adopted when it was almost ready to add to the tank.
Anemone can pop up unexpectedly in an established marine tank. The larvae get dispersed into the water and attach in a variety of locations. One of the best (and worst) aspects of marine tanks is the unexpected surprises.
Recommended Books
Interesting illustrations and a top science writer send you back in time.
Smithsonian + dinosaurs = can't miss.
