Karen Bullock

Bullock's "Do You Dig Science?" is a project in which tenth-grade biology students act as paleontologists on a dig using a standard dig protocol to unearth the disarticulated skeletons of native vertebrates that have been buried on school grounds. Students apply for designated jobs on the dig, i.e., team leader, site artist, curator, public relations liaison, computer expert, etc. They then apply their knowledge of vertebrate anatomy to reassemble the skeletons and create hypotheses about the animal's appearance and role in the simulated ecosystem. Students are encouraged to share their findings at a state science teachers' convention as well as with other schools, newspapers, and the community.