On January 19th and April 20th, Twenty-six sixth grade students from Williamsburg-James City recently participated in the STEM Education Alliance’s inaugural RealScience Fest. The RealScience Fest provides STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) activities that engage students in real, rigorous scientific research.
Students who attended the RealScience Fest became paleontologists for a day by participating in the Mastodon Matrix Project. The remains of a mastodon were discovered in Hyde Park New York in 2000, when the homeowners drained a backyard pond. After the initial excavators’ major findings and preliminary dig were complete, volunteers led by the Paleontological Research Institution (PRI) removed 22,000 pounds of soil from the dig site. The soil continues to be processed through a program designed by the PRI research team, aptly called the Mastodon Matrix Project. The Project allows amateur researchers to examine the soil, discovering and cataloging shells, sticks, rocks, and perhaps even bone fragments. During RealScience Fest, sixth grade students received instructions from PRI and spent a day sifting, sorting and identifying materials found in the soil. Remains were carefully recorded, labeled and bagged. These finding were then returned to PRI where information about the sixth graders’ finds will contribute to the paleontologists’ research.
In addition to cataloging materials from the mastodon project, the students learned about STEM careers through discussions with experienced scientists. Students learned what a typical day at work is like for a scientist, as well as how STEM careers play a part in products used every day.
Want to follow the PRI Mastodon Matrix Project?
View other articles from this event featured in the Williamsburg - Yorktown Daily and on William & Mary's website.
