Field Trips
- Grade Level:
- Upper Elementary: Third Grade through Fifth Grade
- Subject:
- Science
- State Standards:
- Nebraska History: 1.1, 1.4, 4.2. 4.5. 4.6 4,7 8.1.7 8.4.2 12.1.1 12.1.4 12.11. 12
Science: 1.1 2.1.1.a 2.1.1.d 5.1.2a 4.4 8.4.4.b 12.3.4.c 12.4.4 12.4.4.b
Indoor programs:
Diorama Talk
Visit the Great Bonebed of Agate and learn about the death scene of hundreds of Miocene mammals, especially the impressive bison-sized pig-like creature Dinohyus, the carnivore Beardog, and the large giraffe-like herbivore Moropus. Learn how fossils are formed, discovered, and analyzed.
Touching History
Learn and discuss the uses of buffalo parts and other natural items as tools, clothing utensils, and art. See and touch American Indian items similar to those gifted to James H. Cook by Chief Red Cloud. Learn about the tradition of "Winter Counts" and interact with a special example that was painted by a Lakota elder for our monument. Concludes with a tour through the Cook Gallery.Outdoor Programs:
Guided hike on the Fossil Hills trail (2.8 mile round trip)
Experience the native mixed grass prairie and the riparian ecosystem of the Niobrara River on your way to the Fossil Hills. There, universities and museums excavated the Agate Bonebed in the early 1900s. Learn about the traces of the paleoriver that formed the ancient watering hole the animals died at, learn how to identify the layers of rock and how they were laid down, and discover how to identify fossils... and try your hand at finding leftover bone fossils at Carnegie Hill.Guided hike on the Daemonelix Trail (1 mile round trip)
Learn about the mysterious "Devil's Corkscrew" trace fossil that first drew paleontologists to this area. Discover how scientists went from believing them to be large tree roots to the unique burrows of an ancient land beaver. View the Agate Springs ranch where James Cook and his family lived, and their Lakota and Cheyenne friends visited. Learn on the way how to identify paleosols (fossilized topsoil and plants) and other evidence of long-past landscapes.Last updated: June 21, 2021