Users are able to search an extensive database of information on the plant fossil record, including descriptions and occurrences of modern genera and fossil species. Searches can be performed in a variety of ways: by Genera, description, taxonomy, occurrences, and by palaeogeographic maps. After locating the specific plant of interest in the database, the occurrences of that plant are then displayed ... Full description.

This virtual field trip takes you to Edisto Beach, a beautiful sand beach about 30 miles south of Charleston, South Carolina. This particular beach is a well known site for Pleistocene fossils. The field trip presnts information on beachcombing and demonstrates screening for fossils and shells through a series of pages that delve into the origin of the items found there. Full description.

This field trip takes you to quarries near Sarasota, on the west-central coast of Florida, where one of the world's most spectacular fossil accumulations is exposed. The fossil-rich sediments range in age from 1 to 5 million years and contain the abundant remains of mollusks, whales, birds, corals, barnacles, and sharks. The trip looks at how sediments were deposited and provides information on the ... Full description.

New evidence contradicts a claim by a British team to have found 40,000-year-old human footprints in a Mexican quarry in July 2005. This radio broadcast reports on findings that the volcanic ash layer the footprints were found in is a million years old and the footprints may have been made by modern quarry workers. The broadcast also reports on a 20-foot trackway in Scotland created by a giant 6-legged ... Full description.

This reference and image collection was compiled by the Postgraduate Unit of Micropalaeontology at University College, London. The microfossil groups discussed here include calcareous nannofossils, conodonts, diatoms, foraminifera, ostracods, palynology (acritarchs, dinoflagellates, spores, and pollen), and radiolaria. Each group is represented by its own subpage which includes a brief introduction ... Full description.

Fossils provide a valuable record of the plant and animal life and environmental conditions from millions, even billions of years ago. In this lesson, students create their own fossils, and then use multimedia resources to learn how real fossils form and what scientists can learn from them. They should understand that fossils provide evidence of plants and animals that lived long ago, as well as the ... Full description.

This lesson takes advantage of younger students' natural fascination with dinosaurs and explores the following questions: 'What happened to the dinosaurs?', 'Does anyone really know for sure?',and 'What is the difference between fact and fiction?'. Through the use of an interactive feature, video, and classroom discussion, students should understand that dinosaurs once lived on Earth but have completely ... Full description.

In this activity, students make two types of fossils. They begin by making an imprint in modeling clay, using a selection of objects (bones, etc.) to press into it. Then they pour plaster of Paris into the imprints to make casts. Materials lists, instructions, and discussion questions are provided. Full description.

Students can learn about the fossilized remains of animals killed and buried by a blanket of volcanic ash some 12 million years ago in what is now northeastern Nebraska. Materials include the story of how the animals (including twelve species of mammals) came to be fossilized, pictures of some of the animals found at the site, a timeline of discoveries at the site, an interactive map showing the locations ... Full description.

These activities teach students about the Paleocene environment, including the fossil plants and animals, found at the Wannagan Creek Quarry in western North Dakota. They can print out and color images of the plants and animals and use them to construct a diorama, participate in an online fossil "dig", or study the online field school journal, which describes some of the localties that were investigated ... Full description.