Hands on Tauranga offers students stimulating and original learning opportunities with real museum objects that support the New Zealand curriculum at primary and secondary school level.
A collection of fossils collected by senior scientist and paleontologist Dr Hamish Campbell from around the world including China and Canada. Fossils date from the Jurassic, Triassic, Carboniferous, Cretaceous, Devonian, Eocene, Cambrian periods. One of the fossils in this collection is over 500 million years old.
Fossils are the remains or impression of a prehistoric plant or animal embedded in rock and preserved in petrified form. Students' can learn a lot about Earth's past from studying fossils.
Fossils in the collection
1. Dinosaur egg shell- small fragments. This eggshell was most likely from sort of theropod which is a large meat eater or carnivore dinosaur.
Location: This eggshell piece was found in China.
Age: These types of dinosaurs roamed the earth about 65 to 145 million years ago which means they are from the Cretaceous Age.
2. Petrified Wood. Fossilised wood from ancient conifer trees. The wood is fossilised over millions of years. There is a chemical change which makes the organic wood turn to stone.
Location: These trees grew millions of years ago in Antelope Range, Utah, USA and were collected from private land as it is illegal to collect petrified wood from many National Parks in the USA.
Age: This piece of wood is from the Triassic Age, which means it is between 199 to 251 million years old.
3. Flexicalymene Tribolite. Trilobites are extinct marine arthropods that form the class Trilobita. Trilobites form one of the earliest known groups of arthropods. This type of trilobite is from the order Phacopida Trilobites. Arthropods are invertebrates. They possess an exoskeleton with a cuticle made of chitin, often mineralised with calcium carbonate, a body with differentiated segments, and paired jointed appendages.
Location: This type of trilobite is found in the Alta Mountain Formation in Morocco.
Age: This trilobite is between 359 and 416 million years old, and means it is from the Devonian Age.
4. Dinosaur bone chunk. This is a piece of fossilised dinosaur bone.
Location: This bone chunk was dug in the Morrison Formation which is a famous fossil bed in Utah, USA.
Age: This bone chunk is between 144 and 206 million years old, meaning it is from the Jurassic Age.
5. Mazon Creek plant fossil.
Location: A fossil from the famous Mazon Creek fossil beds in Springfield/Braidwood. Illinois, USA. Some of this area is now out of bounds because it holds cooling ponds from local nuclear power plants.
Age: Mazon Creek fossils are approximately 300 million years old, meaning they are from the Carboniferous Period.
6. Canadian Plant Fossil. A plant fossil, a leaf or frond, from a Dawn Redwood tree.
Location: This fossil is from the Tranquille Shale Forest site, Cacha Creek, British Columbia, Canada. These types of fossils are found in many location in the Northern Hemisphere from China to the USA and Canada.
Age: This fossil is between 33 and 55 million years old, which means is it from the early to middle Eocene period.
7. Peronopsis Trilobite. A Peronopsis interstricta trilobite. These fossils were mostly blind, and were one of the first living things on our planet.
Location: This fossil was found in the Wheeler Shale fossil site, in Millard County, Utah, USA
Age: This trilobite is between 499 and 515 million years old, and means it is from the Middle Cambrian Age.
8. Nautiloid Ammonite. A fossil nautiloid that has been polished to reveal the chambers hidden in the middle.
Location: This fossil was found in Morocco.
Age: This nautiloid is about 110 million years old which means it was alive during the Cretaceous Age.
9. Fossil Gastropod. A gastropod fossil which is the scientific name from a snail.
Location: This gastropod was dug from the Tropic Shale fossil site in Iron County, Utah, USA.
Age: This snail fossil is between 65 and 145 million years old. It would have been alive during the Cretaceous Period.
10. Goniatite. These are fossils of Goniatities which have been cleaned and partially polished. All Goniatites are now extinct but they are related to our modern day squid or octopus.
Location: This fossil was found in Morocco.
Age: This type of Goniatite dates in the Devonian Era and is between 359 and 416 million years old.
Read more about fossils here:
> https://teara.govt.nz/en/fossils
> https://nzhistory.govt.nz/14-year-old-finds-new-zealands-oldest-fossils
date: Oldest is 515 million year old
max dimension: 80mm
subject area: Social Science, Science
specific themes: Dinosaur, Fossil, Archaeology
handling collection number: HC146/1-10
Why not borrow these objects :
'Dinosaur Hunter- Joan Wiffen' picture book > http://www.handsontauranga.co.nz/hot-items/science/dinosaur-hunter-picture-book-hc236/
Ammonite and petrified wood > https://www.handsontauranga.co.nz/hot-items/science/ammonite-and-petrified-wood-hc192/
School journal links: This article 'New Zealand Dinosaurs' by Dr Hamish Campbell is in the Level 2 November 2017 School Journal and available to download http://instructionalseries.tki.org.nz/Instructional-Series/School-Journal/School-Journal-Level-2-November-2017/New-Zealand-Dinosaurs
This School Journal Level 3 September 2012 has an article 'Mary Anning Fossil Hunter'. This report tells the story of Mary Anning, who was born in 1799. Her lifelong interest in hunting for “curios” led to some important finds that caught the attention of scientists from around the world.The article recounts Mary’s early life and how the skills her father taught her helped Mary to support the family after his death. Mary’s discoveries have helped scientists to understand the evolution of life forms. http://instructionalseries.tki.org.nz/Instructional-Series/School-Journal/School-Journal-Level-3-September-2012/Mary-Anning-Fossil-Hunter
This School Journal Level 3 September 2012 has an article 'The Dinosaur Hunter'. This article tells the story of a New Zealand woman who, like Mary Anning, had a great curiosity about rocks and the fossils in them. The article continues the theme of change over time. http://instructionalseries.tki.org.nz/Instructional-Series/School-Journal/School-Journal-Level-3-September-2012/The-Dinosaur-Hunter
House of Science related kit link > 'Fossil Fuels / Ngā Koranehe'
The impact of oil spills on the environment is also introduced. Students evaluate the effectiveness of a selection of materials and techniques used to contain and clean up oil spills on land and in the water. https://houseofscience.nz/science-kits/
