Welcome
to Dinosaur Expedition 2000, Project Exploration's
window onto Paul Sereno's four month dinosaur
expedition to the Sahara Desert.
Between
August 13 and December 5, when you log on to www.projectexploration.org,
you will have direct access to discoveries as
they happen and to the team of the 2000 Expedition
to Niger.
Dinosaur Expedition 2000 is the window
on to the 2000 Expedition to Niger led by Paul
Sereno. Developed by Project Exploration as
part of its mission to make science accessible
to the public - and especially kids - "DE2K"
allows visitors to witness not only paleontology
in action, explore questions about dinosaur evolution,
and learn about the challenges of a four-month
expedition to the world's largest desert. Along
the way, visitors will also explore Niger and
get to know some of the people who live there.
The
expedition has an ambitious itinerary that will
take them criss-crossing northern Niger with time
in September to see the Cure Salee, a nomadic
festival during which the Wodaabe (Fulani), men
dance in lines and the most beautiful of the tribal
women deem which of the men are the most handsome.
There
are four camps planned. Camp One will be based
in 110-million-year-old beds near the site of
a bizarre, 600-toothed plant eater the team discovered
and partially excavated in 1997. The three other
camps planned will allow them to explore 130-million
year-old and 90 million year-old dinosaur beds.
Part of the agreement with the country of Niger
includes a mandate create a survey of sites found
in the areas explored. In addition, any fossils
that are collected will be loaned to the team
to bring to Chicago clean and prepare, but eventually
the fossils will be returned to Niger and placed
in the National Museum in Niamey.
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About
the Site
The
site has four main components:
I. Niger 2000
Houses
up to date reports and images from the field
- Updates:
Weekly
reports about field life and the latest discoveries
from Gabrielle Lyon and other team members.
- Photo
Gallery:
A searchable library of images from the desert,
constantly updated from the field Images can
also be sent as postcards.
- Camp
Life:
A running menu of what's for dinner, interviews
with the team, stories of life in the field,
and a weather update
- Question
Library: A searchable library of questions
submitted by students and answered by team members.
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II.
Base Camp
Provides
key background information about the expedition.
- Schedule:
The team's planned schedule compared with the
actual one that happens in the field
- The
Team: Biographies, interviews and images
of the team let you get to know people better
- Expedition
Documents: Original source documents
such as communications from Paul to the team,
supply lists, and other documents provide insight
into what it takes to run a successful expedition
- Background
information:
Information on topics such as "Why go to Africa
to Look for Dinosaurs?" "Niger and its peoples,"
and "The Sahara". This section provide answers
to key questions and important context for the
expedition
- Links,
Glossary, Bibliography:
Useful resources for people who want to learn
more, or just look up the meaning of a word
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III. Teacher Tent
- Schools
of the Week: A profile of the schools
that are currently corresponding with the team
- Activities:
A
set of interdisciplinary activities designed
for grades 5-8, based on real life challenges
the team faces in the field. Activities are
combined with useful links, as well as thematic
glossaries and bibliographies. Activities are
designed to be printed out and used with students'
offline - it is not necessary to be online with
your class to do activities.
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IV. About DE2K
- Media/Press:
Press releases, and a library of articles about
previous expeditions, Project Exploration and
Paul Sereno
- Partners:
A thank you to funders and supporters of Dinosaur
Expedition 2000 and Project Exploration
- How
you can help: An opportunity to support
Dinosaur Expedition and Project Exploration's
work to make new discoveries accessible and
provide natural science experiences to city
kids. The site also enables student to send
a birthday message to Paul online, to check
the daily weather report, to find out what's
for dinner, and what supplies are being used
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