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Stones and Bones Paleontology Program at University of Chicago

Stones and Bones Paleontology Program at University of Chicago

Four-week intensive practicum in paleontology in Chicago and Wyoming at UChicago for high school students.

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Experience in paleontology as a high school student is not something that comes along every day, especially when it comes from a university as prestigious as the University of Chicago. However, true hands-on experience with “stones and bones” is precisely what students will receive over the course of this one-of-a-kind, but demanding, four-week curriculum. The curriculum begins at the labs of Chicago’s Field Museum, where students will learn about the collection and analysis of fossils. Before traveling to Wyoming to participate in the ongoing Field Museum expedition at the Green River Formation, students will master fundamental topics such as evolutionary biology, fossil preparation, fossil description, and correct depiction.

College credit awarded: 200 UChicago units, which is equivalent to 2 full-time courses

Learn about basic geology (including rocks and minerals, stratigraphy, earth history, and mapping abilities), evolutionary biology (including comparative skeletal anatomy of fishes and other freshwater animals, large-scale evolutionary patterns of these animals, and how the 50-million-year-old Fossil Lake Range ecosystem was established and functioned), and specimen-based research methods. This course covers the essential scientific basis required to locate and comprehend the meaning of fossils as they have been preserved, as well as the chance for students to obtain genuine field experience. Students explore previously acquired fossils and learn how to prepare, maintain, and evaluate specimens “behind the scenes” at the Field Museum.