University of Chicago Laboratory Schools
Chicago, Illinois
Susan Lesher 5th Grade
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About The Class:

Our school is on the campus of The University of Chicago, so Professor Sereno and Project Exploration are neighbors. We are looking forward to the arrival of the bones which will be prepared only a few blocks from our classroom. Our class is made up of 12 boys and 11 girls. This is a bright, lively group of children. They love reading books of all kinds and are wonderful, creative writers. The children have many special talents and interests including: participating in team sports and activities such as soccer, baseball, and swimming, ice skating, gymnastics, blading, biking, horseback riding, building models, drawing, and playing a variety of musical instruments.

The class started its study of Dinosaur Expedition 2003 with a piece of historical fiction, My Daniel, by Pam Conrad. This is a story of a dinosaur found on the farm of a Nebraska family in the late 1800's. After reading this book, the children became enthralled with dinosaur prospectors. We've continued by studying Professor Sereno's 1993 and 1997 expeditions to Niger through videos as well as written material. It is exciting to be able to follow the 2003 expedition on the Project Exploration web site. We also intend to write letters to the team in the field.

The focus of study has been on the planning and preparation for expeditions, the grueling work in the field, and the preparation of bones in the lab. We will also study the cultural and geographical significance of the sites. The children will be doing research and working in teams to write reports about the countries that surround Niger. They will also study some of the famous palentologists and dinosaur prospectors who have preceded Professor Sereno.

Student Questions:

1. Why did the modern crocodile get smaller than SuperCroc? Why did the species get smaller?
   
   SERENO: The evolutionary tree of crocodiles has many branches, and SuperCroc is located along one branch that specialized in becoming so huge it could eat dinosaurs. Modern crocs were just evolving then from another branch that, like most crocs, were more moderate in size. Some modern crocs are the same size as their Cretaceous cousins (like a caiman), but others are larger, like a saltie or an American croc. So, you see, they haven’t gotten smaller over time. Some modern crocs have evolved to larger sizes, although still smaller than SuperCroc.
   
   
2. Most members of the team have never gone an an expedition like this before. How were expedition team members chosen? What experiences and qualities were important in making the decision.
   
   GRAY: All of the members on this team had either worked with Dr. Sereno in the past, or with a trusted colleague. First and foremost, we assemble people who can get work together and respect each other for long periods of time in the middle of nowhere. Beyond that, one has to be able and motivated to work hard, long hours under tough conditions, seven days a week. I’m talking about people who jump in and get things done and love doing it.
   
   
3. Why are dinosaurs often posed to look as though they are going to attack? Are they posed as they are found or as you believe their behavior would dictate?
   
   SERENO: They are posed to give some indication of a characteristic behavior -- like attacking if it is a meat-eater. Of course, most of the time, the dinosaur was probably sleeping under a tree, but that wouldn’t look very interesting. And they are never found in a life-like pose. After all, they were dead when buried, and sometimes their bones got shifted all over the place.
   
   
4. When you find a new dinosaur how do you decide on the name?
   
   SERENO: A scientific name is permanent and must be used by everyone, so it better be good. By “good,” I mean that it preferably has meaning or significance related to the dinosaur and that it can be pronounced relatively easily. It should have a nice “ring” to it! By tradition, we often use stems in Latin or Greek or a native language in the area of the find. When there is not an outstanding feature of the dinosaur, like a horn or crest, then a place name or local name might be used. Eoraptor is the oldest dinosaur, and so I named it the “dawn raptor.” Afrovenator was the first predatory dinosaur from the Cretaceous of Africa, so we called it “African hunter.”
   
   
5. Parent Question:
   How can you tell if the bones belong to a male or female?
   
   SERENO: The simple answer -- no one can. Don’t believe the hype about Sue in some corners. Ever try to sex a living reptile? Believe me, it ain’t easy, and none of the parts are hard or leave any mark on a skeleton. Worse yet, dinosaurs don’t seem to have any obvious hard-part sex differences, like horns. They all look pretty much the same. When we have found a 50-50 split in a bunch of skeletons, with some looking one way and some looking slightly different, we don’t know which is which.

View the class birthday cards to Paul Sereno