10th
grade, Noble Street Charter School
Pritzker College Preparatory
ON ASSIGNMENT:
Life’s Little Lessons
“Eureka!” cried Dr. Paul Sereno and his team of paleontologists when they realized that they had just discovered a brand new species of dinosaur. After a long time in the sweltering desert, they found a creature unlike any other, Nigersaurus. However, their work wasn’t finished just yet.
Over the next ten years, Dr. Sereno and his staff
put a lot of effort into making these bones come
to life. Still, not everything came easy. Nothing
came easy for anyone. |
Photo E. Schroeter |
There were many hardships along the
way. For example, putting the bones together
in the right places took years. [Reconstructing]
the skull especially took a long time;
it was one of the bones that took longest
to complete. Many bones were paper thin,
so removing them from the sediment had
to be done with meticulous, tender care.
One false move and they’d break. What
was really confusing was the skeletal
structure of Nigersaurus; it had the paper thin bones most commonly associated with theropods. So, Dr. Sereno and his researchers pondered and pondered. They did some research, and found that Nigersaurus wasn’t a theropod, but a diplodocoid, a type of sauropod. Another
example was finding out how Nigersaurus held its head. To figure that out, they performed a CT scan of the brain. They found that because of the way the brain was positioned within the skull, Nigersaurus held
its head downwards at a 90˚ angle.
Recreating the lifelike flesh appearance
was no easy task either. Since Nigersaurus is not alive today, figuring out how it looked was a major challenge. Much of the flesh had to be improvised from its closest relatives, and even some reptiles we have today. So, there were many challenges that were faced.
All this shows many things, but it shows me one thing in particular. Patience is a virtue. It took Dr. Sereno and his staff ten years since they dug up the bones to be able to present Nigersaurus to the world. Ten years of frequent confusion. Now, it’s easy to get frustrated and just abandon the entire project, but if one is patient, then the reward is greater in the end. I can use this. There have been so many times I’ve wanted to just give up, especially in my math class, but if Dr. Sereno and team could withstand months of scorching desert heat, then maybe I could stand doing a few quadratic functions every night, and a few book reports. In the end, it’s all worth it.
REFLECTIONS OF A DELEGATE
11/12/07
What are your goals for yourself during this unveiling?
While I’m a delegate for Nigersaurus, I have one simple goal. I love life, and what I want most is to have interesting stories to tell my children and their children. My experience in being a Nigersaurus Delegate is to be in something that only a handful of people in this world get to participate in. It’ll be another story in my life. My goal is to live and enjoy every minute of it.
11/14/07
I told my friend that I was going to the unveiling of a new dinosaur species and she asked, “Why should I care?” What should I tell her?
If my friend asked me why she should care about the unveiling of Nigersaurus, I’d ask, “Why shouldn’t you?” This unveiling is something never before seen, and to be a part of it is to be a part of history.
Mariana takes notes in her journal at the Nigersaurus Delegation pre-trip training.
Photo M. E. Perez |
It’ll be something new that can’t be experienced again. Then, if that doesn’t get her, I’ll tell her that studying the Earth’s past can unlock keys to the future. For example, if a huge meteor hit the Earth and caused a huge climate change, we’d know that’s what killed the dinosaurs and we’d be ready. Plus, it’s really interesting to learn about life before us and look at all these weird-looking creatures that morphed into what we have today. Scientific unveilings are important so that we don’t stay in the dark about Earth’s history, but learn from it.
11/15/07
I used to think…But now I know…
Before being a Nigersaurus Delegate, I was a Junior Paleontologist with Project Exploration, so I was prepared for a lot. The first time I saw the face of Nigersaurus, I thought, “What’s this?” I thought it was just some weird-looking animal with a big neck. Now, I know more and it’s not just some weird animal, it’s the coolest thing ever. I learned so much about it, how it ate, how old it is, and potentially what it ate (horsetails and ferns). It was so cool. |
Mariana discusses the press conference with teacher
delegate Matt Knoepke.
Photo V. Spitzer
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