1. Arrival: List as many Dinosaur species as you can!

2. How do we know what happened in the past?

3. What is a fossil?
Fossils are the preserved remains or traces of an organism that lived in the past.
Fossils can be one of the following:
Come from something living
Be the original organism (like things encased in amber, or preserved in ice)
Have sediment replace the object being fossilized (seashells and tree bark are often replaced by minerals)
it must be a trace of the object (footprints or droppings)

4. What do fossils tell us? Changes in the Earth’s climate
Surface changes
Changes to organisms

5. Discussion: Becoming A Fossil
Discuss what circumstances under which a large mammal, could first become fossilized and then be discovered by researchers.
How might conditions for successful fossilization differ between mammals and plants? Why?
Discuss how different organisms living in different niches (habits) might have very different probabilities of being fossilized.
- get students to watch clip before hand (10mins to discuss)

6. How are fossils produced?
Hard body parts like skeletons left on surface
Rapid burial and/or lack of oxygen
Organism left undisturbed for a long time (keeps oxygen out and allows the surrounding sediment to harden around it)

7. Mystery Bones Activity
Team should cut out bones.
As a group try and piece together to bones of the animal.
Once you have decided glue bones on piece of paper.
Discuss as a group what you think the animal looked like.
Bonus: sketch what you think the animal looked like.
Students answer summary questions provided with mystery bones activity.

10. Plenary
List 3 new pieces of information that you found out today.