Paper No. 85-21
Presentation Time: 1:30 PM-5:30 PM
FOSSIL MAMMALS OF PUERTO RICO: A K-12 GEOSCIENCE EDUCATION INITIATIVE
RITCHIE, Megan D., Joint Science Department, Scripps College, 925 North Mills Avenue, Claremont, CA 91711-5916, megan@saffitz.com and MCFARLANE, Donald A., W. M. Keck Science Center, The Claremont Colleges, 925 North Mills Avenue, Claremont, CA 91711

West Indian Quaternary vertebrate fossils are preserved almost exclusively in caves. Unfortunately, high human population densities in the Caribbean are significantly impacting caves, with the irreplaceable loss of both paleontological and paleoclimatic evidence. Ultimately, the survival and elucidation of the paleoecological and paleoclimatic archive in West Indian caves will depend on a collaboration of local scientists, amateur natural historians, cavers and the general public. At the present time, participation by these diverse interest groups is severely limited by a lack of access to comparative materials, which for practical and historic reasons have generally been accessioned into the collections of the major museums in the United States. As part of a larger, “digital museum” project intended to provide access to digital imagery of the fossils, we have developed a four part curriculum for Puerto Rican students in kindergarten, 5th, 8th and 12th grades, with the goal of fostering an appreciation of the value of cave and fossil conservation. Project materials include a picture book, writing assignment, hands-on fossil identification exercise and supporting teachers notes and visual aids.

2002 Denver Annual Meeting (October 27-30, 2002)
Session No. 85--Booth# 63
Geoscience Education (Posters) I
Colorado Convention Center: Exhibit Hall
1:30 PM-5:30 PM, Monday, October 28, 2002
 

© Copyright 2002 The Geological Society of America (GSA), all rights reserved. Permission is hereby granted to the author(s) of this abstract to reproduce and distribute it freely, for noncommercial purposes. Permission is hereby granted to any individual scientist to download a single copy of this electronic file and reproduce up to 20 paper copies for noncommercial purposes advancing science and education, including classroom use, providing all reproductions include the complete content shown here, including the author information. All other forms of reproduction and/or transmittal are prohibited without written permission from GSA Copyright Permissions.