Day 9: Plaster Fossils & Field Trip

This was an awesome day. We had planned a field trip and making plaster cast plate of plants—a lesson everyone was looking forward to.

Before our field trip, we briefly discussed the different kinds of fossils that scientists find including amber and frozen mammoth. We discussed how fossils form and also Rachel Dein, the artist we were emulating for our plaster plates.

I probably needn’t have done the talk about fossils since most of that information was covered in our field trip. But I wasn’t sure, at the time, what the field trip would all entail.

We walked over to Trowbridge Hall and Tiffany Aidan did a wonderful job showing us around and teaching us about fossils and how scientists use art for preservation and research. The students dug for fossils in bins and every student was able to find a highly coveted shark tooth.

We also toured the many fossils and specimens in glass cases there and the students sketched their favorite items.

We collected plants and flowers on our way back to the Belin-Blank and once back in the classroom, we were in a rush to get our plaster plates made. The field trip had taken longer than I expected and I hadn’t wanted to cut it short because it was really engaging and educational.

With just enough time, we managed to squeak out our plaster plates and even our “amber” (resin) bugs.