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What are the kids asking this week?
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September 11:
Barbara Conner
2nd Grade - This class is participating
in a letter exercise with the team,
in which the letters will be mailed
to the team. Click on the "Read
Questions" link
to see the letters. You will be taken
into our photo gallery to see the letters.
Use your browser's back button or click
on the DE2K logo to return to the site.
Otis
School
Read
Questions
(scanned letters supplied courtesy of
the Chicago Teachers' Center)
Ellen Shea
7th grade
Solomon
School
-
Could you tell us
about how your camp site was chosen
and set up? How long did it take you
to make camp?
Answer:
I looked, first , for protected area
, protected from the wind and sand .
Also, I wanted it to be sort of hidden,
so it would be a little hard for someone
passing by to see. Then , secondly ,
I looked for a place that would allow
us to have some sort of privacy - within
a short walk, so we can find a bathroom
quickly. Third, I looked for a pretty
campsite because it is a place that
we will spend a lot of time. So we ended
up choosing a beautiful circle of dunes
with an entrance on one side. Camp took
us less than two hours to set up. -
Paul
- What have you accomplished so far?
Answer:
We have found an amazing amount
of fossils . Every day that we spend
looking we find something. We have found
dinosaurs, crocodiles, turtles - at
least one major, and many interesting
finds each day. Most interesting for
me is a new little dinosaur. Chris found
this beautiful little skeleton - less
than 3 feet long! Sadly there's no skull
preserved. It eroded away maybe a century
ago. But this little dinosaur is certainly
an new one! - Paul
- What is the first goal that you have
set for the team to accomplish in the
Sahara?
Answer:
Our first goal is to look over a 20-mile-long
area where we found lots of fossils
three years ago during the 1997 Expedition
to Niger. Each day we choose a new area
to search. Because the sand shifts,
many new fossils become exposed on the
surface. And we continue to be surprised
at the number of things we are finding.
It is a very large area to search. Like
searching an area many times the size
of Chicago for things that may be as
small as a single tooth. - Paul
- What made you become a paleontologist?
Answer:
I became a paleontologist because I
eventually learned by the time I was
in college that I really like several
things:
1. Art
2. Science, particularly biology
3. Skeleton drawings and old things
4. Travel, adventure, and discovery
Paleontology involves all of these.
- Paul
- Could you tell us the story of your
trip to the Sahara? Where there any
problems or interesting things that
you experienced on the way or special
people that you met?
Answer:
The trip to the Sahara involved a lot
of surprises as it always seems to.
First, I had no idea that our cargo
containers with all of our supplies
and equipment would be delayed so long
after the team arrived in Niger. Eventually
we needed to go into the desert with
most of my team using leftover supplies
from the last expedition.
On the other hand, I was very happy
to be received so well by the country
of Niger! I had a chance to meet President
Tandja and tell him personally how important
and interesting the dinosaurs of Niger
are to the history of Africa.
- Paul
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