Nettelhorst School
Chicago, Illinois
Jack Sullivan, Pre-K to 8th Grade

About the School

The Louis Nettelhorst School is a magnet cluster school serving children from Pre-Kindergarten through eighth grade located at 3252 North Broadway (3250 North-600 West), one block west of Lake Michigan in the East Lake View Neighborhood of the great city of Chicago. Both the school and the Lakeview community reflect the multicultural richness of Chicago. As an International CPS Scholars School, we emphasize World Language and the truly International composition of our student body and community. Our "Science Stars" wish the best to the expedition team and all scientists working to make the world a better place.

Student Questions:

1. If these dinosaurs were alive today would we, should we be afraid of them? Why or why not.
   
   SERENO: Suprise! Dinosaurs ARE alive today! All the birds you see around you, from hawks to sparrows, are evolved forms of a branch of dinosaurs called therapods, which include T-rex, Velociraptor, and Suchomimus. Since birds are their decendants, birds also fall under the category of dinosaurs." However, I'll assume you meant "What if a T-rex was alive today?": There are plenty of animals alive today that could potentially eat us if we were in the wrong place at the wrong time, or simply were disrespectful of their living space. For example, bears, lions and wolves all are considered very dangerous animals. And yet on a day to day basis, depending on where you live, these creatures don't come up on you list of things to worry about. In short, if dinosaurs were alive today, you would (should) probably have as much fear, respect, and awe for them as you do bears. Nice to look at in zoos, but don't get to close.
   
2. How do you know where to look for dinosaurs?
   
   SERENO: We look at a special kind of map called a geologic map that shows the ages of rocks. We target certain-aged rocks, locate them on the map, and go to the area to search for bones. The area to search can still be quite large, such as 25 miles x 10 miles.
   
   
3. What have you learned that you didn't already know?
   
   SERENO: One of our best finds is a perfect SuperCroc skull. Before, we had found a very good one, but there was one bone missing from the front of the upper jaw, and the skull had been a little compressed. As a result, we were not sure exactly how the jaws fit together. Now we will know because both the upper and lower jaws of this new skull are perfectly preserved. Can't wait to get it into the lab and cleaned!
   
   
4. What do you do to preserve your findings to prevent possible contamination or spoilage once exposed?
   
   MILLER: Most of the bones that we collect are protected by burlap and plaster jackets that allow us to ship them back to the US for preparation (cleaning and reconstruction), but we're able to protect some with only paper towels and fiber tape.
   
   
5. PARENT QUESTION
   With the beginning of the cloning era now, do the members of the expedition think that it is possible to clone a dinosaur? Do they think they have enough DNA materials like bone marrow for the eventual cloning.
   
   SERENO: Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on how you look at it) a real life Jurassic Park will probably never be realized. The process of fossilization turns the bones into rock, filling in all the spaces ocuppied by soft anatomy-like cells, protein, and marrows (mostly blood and fat). The marrow decays and DNA begins to break down within hours of death. Cloning requires complete nuclei with chromosomes intact and eggs from the same species. But at least you won't ever have to chase a T-rex away from drinking out of your swimming pool.