THE ARLINGTON ARCHOSAUR SITE AS A WORKING URBAN PALEONTOLOGICAL EXCAVATION AND FIELD LABORATORY COMMUNITY RESOURCE FOR EDUCATORS, STUDENTS AND THE GENERAL PUBLIC

American students traditionally score lower in math and science compared to students of other countries. If the United States is to remain globally competitive, our students must improve performance in the areas of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). Educators continuously search for ways to make science meaningful to students and often have difficulty helping students make a connection between science and their own lives. Field trips and other hands on activities give students ownership of a science experience that allows different types of learners to gain skills. The National Research Council suggests students benefit from science education that reaches beyond the finite classroom walls.

The Arlington Archosaur Site (AAS) provides students with a unique opportunity to study the natural world around them while interacting with scientists doing real science in a working field laboratory. The Arlington Archosaur Site is a rare, urban paleontological excavation site conveniently located in the city of Arlington, between Dallas and Fort Worth. The AAS occurs within the exposed Cretaceous sediments of the Woodbine Formation preserving a coastal deltaic plain ecosystem. This prolific dig site has produced to date, the fossilized remains of dinosaurs, crocodiles, turtles, and lungfish. The AAS is actively worked by experts and interested volunteers, including local schools and youth groups. This outreach offers many underrepresented groups in science, along with the general public, a unique opportunity to explore their natural history and the science of paleontology. Genuine science opportunities, like those offered at the AAS, can equalize students’ ability to learn, provide a knowledge base from which educators can build on, and transcend many learning barriers. This study explores and compares middle school students’ attainment of proficient science skills between those who experience learning through hands on science activities as compared to those taught the same content without hands on experiences.