Fossils  The remains of past life in the rocks help define ancient ecosystems, and unravel the history of life.  See how animal forms are linked to their habitats and ways of life.  Learn some of the reasons for extinction of species.  (A)

The trilobite in the picture above is a species in the genus Cornuprotus.  The specimen was found in Morocco and is approximately 350 million years old.   HGM collection. To learn more about trilobites click on the picture above.

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Fossil hunt   Using  proper techniques the class will uncover and identify a set of fossils, and interpret the environments in which they lived, died and were preserved.    (B)

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Courthouse History

This is the skull of a small dinosaur known as Psittacosaurus.  It is  about 135 million years old.  Psittacosaurus is one of the ancestors of the large frilled and horned dinosaurs such as Triceratops.  HGM collection. 

Educational Programs

Paleo studies  learn how paleontologists excavate fossils from rock in this hands-on program using real specimens, and how to make molds and casts of them.

In the photo above is a nearly complete front limb of an unknown species of Mosasaur, a group of marine reptiles that lived between 65 and 80 million years ago. This specimen was found  in Morocco.  To learn more about Mosasaurs, click on the picture.  HGM collection.

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Fossils and dinosaurs  an introduction for grades K - 2 to what fossils are, how they form and a survey of the museum's dinosaur fossils and what they tell us about these prehistoric animals and the environments that they lived in. (A)

This fossil bird is Confuciusornis sanctus, and is of late Jurassic age (145 million years old). This species was a member of a group of birds with grasping claws on its fingers. It became extinct at the same time that the last of the dinosaurs did.  To learn more about dinosaurs and fossils click on the bird's head.  HGM collection.