Highlands Rock Quarry Fossil Hike
A wonderful example of the "Cosmic Education" component of Montessori education is the "Going Out" component, where students plan and execute field trips around Missouri: sometimes to the grocery store, other times to businesses or parks. This time, we join the Upper Elementary students on a fossil hike through Highland Rock Quarry. The Upper Elementary has continued to study in great depth the beginning of life as we know it on our planet; here, they uncover fossils from a time when much of Missouri was underwater. See what they found below!
Before any "Going Out," the Upper Elementary students focus on organizing and planning. This can mean days of preparation: making lists of what to pack, getting directions, researching the location, calling potential drivers and leaving voice messages (some of which may never be deleted for how sweet and polite they are!). During this aspect of the field trip, it is important that the adults gently guide, but not interfere with the process, even if that means making a few wrong turns during the drive there while the children navigate!
This hike follows the series of Great Lessons the Upper Elementary have been experiencing, and came soon after the Coming of Life lesson the sixth year students have presented.Upper Elementary Directress Rebecca Callander explains the relevance of this Going Out: "The intellectual mind of the second plane child must know how we know about this emergent life. We discuss carbon traces and the process of fossilization. Children can extend this study to the world outside them. In Kirkwood, we are so fortunate to have a renowned fossil site, recognized as one of several in establishing the early stage of the Mississippian sub-period of the Carboniferous time period in North America as the Meramecian Stage."
"The Highlands Rock Quarry located in the Dee Koestering Park has fossil reveals, which place Kirkwood on the shoreline of an ancient shallow ocean which covered most of the Midwest from 346.7-330.9 mya. The hike into the 100-year-old quarry allows children to see fossil life from so long ago—a chance to read our history from the pages of the book of our earth!"And packed full of fossils it is! Within the first 10 minutes of arriving, all six children in this group had found at least one. They were scattered on the ground, as well as embedded in the layers of rock below their feet.
Look at all those layers!
Our wonderful assistant Colleen Deibel joined in the search
There was also a bit of time for exploring while we searched for remnants of drill holes from the quarry's blasting days (you can see them imprinted in the rock above, where the student in the green shirt has his right hand) before heading back to school. Once they were back in the classroom, the children took turns with the stereomicroscope to identify their fossils.
A large magnifying glass also came in handy.
Thank you, Upper Elementary, for letting me tag along on this adventure!