SHARE THE ADVENTURE! DISCOVERING DINOSAURS: ELECTRONIC FIELDTRIP TO GRAND STAIRCASE-ESCALANTE NATIONAL MONUMENT, A BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT AND MUSEUM OF NORTHERN ARIZONA PARTNERSHIP

The exposure of an articulated tail of a duckbill dinosaur in 2000 in Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument (GSENM) by the Museum of Northern Arizona led to a remarkable opportunity for public education. The tail skeleton included ossified tendons and associated bones, in high-quality preservation. The site was in the Kaiparowits Plateau, a picturesque high-elevation desert presently designated as a Wilderness Study Area. The Bureau of Land Management and Museum of Northern Arizona developed this pilot project for environmental education through a website that covered the progress of the excavation, on-site videography that documented the excavation, preparation of an educator's guide for teachers in grades 5-9,and production of a interactive, live broadcast to classrooms via satellite. Learning objectives included (1) the process of scientific inquiry and how it is used by paleontologists; (2) how fossils form and what we can learn from them; (3) scientific values of GSENM and other protected areas on public lands; (4) actions that individuals can take to protect scientific resources on public lands; and (5) the notion that we all participate in ownership of America's public lands. During the excavation, paleontologists found skin impressions of this dinosaur's tail, a rare and exciting discovery that was covered as it happened by the videography. The broadcast and educator's guide sought to meet National Science Education Standards for grades 5-9: Standard A, Science as Inquiry; Standard C, Life Science, biological evolution, diversity and adaptations of organisms; Standard D, Earth and Space Science, structure of the Earth system, Earth's history, origin and evolution of the Earth system; and Standard G, History and Nature of Science, science as a human endeavor. The two one-hour broadcasts attracted classrooms from across the North American continent, from Florida to Alaska.