Historical Geology Performance Lab
Historical Geology Performance Lab
Criteria
Criterion B: Inquiring and designing
- Outline a testable hypothesis and explain it using scientific reasoning
Criterion C: Processing and evaluating
- Interpret data and describe results using scientific reasoning
- Discuss the validity of the hypothesis based on the outcome of the scientific investigation
Task
As a museum curator, it is your job to keep the art museum’s gallery up to date and organized. Part of your job is to identify the time era in which paintings and drawings came from. Your museum director has just received a shipment of primitive drawings that showcase animals. The animals are oddly detailed and contain labels about the function of their body parts. Using your knowledge of Earth’s history, and event’s that happened throughout the four era’s, identify which era each animal came from and write a paragraph defending your decision.
Product
You will design an animal that can survive in the Mesozoic era. You must create your animal with features thatare natural, functional, productive, and enable the animal to survive within the Mesozoic Era. Your animal must meet the following requirements:
- YOUR INFORMATION MUST BE ACCURATE AND APPROPRIATE FOR THE TIME PERIOD IN WHICH YOUR ANIMAL IS BEING CREATED FOR!
- Create your animal with features thatare NATURAL (i.e. no laser eyes to blast rocks apart etc.), functional, productive, and enable the animal to survive
- Animal must be colored
- Animal must fit on one 8.5 x 11 in page of paper
- Must label,and be able to see, features that allow your animal to survive in the climate and conditions of the era it lives in (ex. thick fur for cold environments).
- On the bottom of the page (below your animal), describe how you designed your animal so that it could live in the conditions that existed during its era. Be sure to mention
- How your animal obtains food
- How your animal obtains water
- Where your animal lives (shelter)
On performance day, you will receive a mystery animal and identify which era it is from. You will write one paragraph that defends your decision about the era in which you placed the animal. Afterwards, Mr. Haidinger will reveal a new animal and the era it belongs to. You will have to validate why this animal comes from that era.