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Lesson Plan

Cookie Conservation

Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument

Grade Level:

Upper Elementary: Third Grade through Fifth Grade

Subject:

Science

Lesson Duration:

30 Minutes

Thinking Skills:

Evaluating: Make informed judgements about the value of ideas or materials. Use standards and criteria to support opinions and views.

Essential Question

What role do we have in the protection and preservation of our natural resources?

Objective

Students will learn the purpose and importance of conservation and why the National Park Service is committed to preservation. Students will be able to explain that if fossil collecting was still permitted in the area of the monument, we likely would not have any more petrified stumps.

Background

In the late 19^th century, and extending well into the mid-20^th century, fossil collecting in the Florissant valley was legal and a favorite Colorado pastime. People would come in from all parts of Colorado to collect pieces of the petrified redwood stumps and shales containing an abundance of fossil plants and insects. Fossil collecting in the Florissant valley became such a popular tourist activity that people would visit from out of state as well. In fact, in 1956, Walt Disney drove out to Florissant valley and purchased a petrified redwood stump as a gift to his wife for their 31^st anniversary. The petrified stump purchased by Walt Disney now sits in Frontierland of Disneyland amusement park in Anaheim, California.
Although fossil collecting in the Florissant valley brought in both local and outside tourism, people in the area took notice that the fossils were disappearing rapidly. If fossil collecting was not halted, future generations would never be able to witness the abundance of fossils that occurred in this area.
Thankfully, through the efforts of several lawyers and environmental activists (including local concerned citizens), this area was declared a national monument in 1969. Ever since then, the National Park Service has strived to preserve and conserve the fossils of the Florissant valley so that people today, and future generations, are able to witness this area as nature intended it to be.

Preparation

You will need:

• 2 chocolate chip cookies per person

• 2 toothpicks per person

• Napkins or paper towels

• Timer

Lesson Hook/Preview

We have a lot of cool resources in all our National Parks and Monuments. Part of the job of the National Park service is ensuring the conservation and preservation of these resources, like fossils. But what would happen if we didn't practice conservation? What if everyone was allowed to take a piece for themselves? Let's use a tasty example to show why we need good conservation practices to ensure that everyone gets to enjoy everything our National Parks have to offer us.

Procedure

#1: Hand out the cookies, toothpicks, and a napkin or plate to each person.
#2: Go over the history of fossil collecting by early tourists.
From the late 1800's up to the mid-1900's, fossil collecting in the Florissant Valley was legal and a popular pastime. For much of that time anyone could take as much as they wanted whenever they wanted. People would come from all parts of Colorado to take pieces of the petrified redwood stumps and shales full of fossil plants and insects. Soon fossil collecting at Florissant become so popular that tourists from outside the state came to find their own fossils to take home. In fact, in 1956, Walt Disney himself drove to Florissant to buy a whole petrified stump as a gift to his wife for their 31st anniversary. The stump Disney bought is now displayed in Frontierland of Disneyland amusement park in California.
#3: Take one cookie and put it on the napkin. Set the timer to one minute. You have one minute to try to mine out as many chocolate chips as you can with only your fingers. When the timer goes off stop. Quantity is the goal here. Get as many chips out as you can!
#4: Go over the damage done by early unregulated collecting of fossils and petrified redwood.
This method is like the hasty collecting of the tourists. The early tourists at Florissant were more concerned with getting as many fossils out of the ground as they could in a short amount of time. A train used to stop next to an outcrop so that tourists on it could fossil hunt for a short time before moving on. They often only had a couple hours to dig. This meant that they often became sloppy and careless in their rush to find more fossils.
Now look at the cookie you "excavated". Would you still want to eat the cookie without all the chocolate chips you mined out? Or would you rather just eat the chocolate chips?
Even though fossil collecting was bringing both local and outside tourism to the area, people living in the valley noticed that the fossils were quickly disappearing. They began to worry that soon the petrified stumps and shale fossils would disappear completely. If nothing was done, there might not be anything left for anyone to see later on! This would mean that future generations (including us now) might never know about the ancient redwoods or beautiful fossils from the lake.
#5: Put your second cookie on the napkin and get your toothpicks ready. Set a timer for three (3) minutes. This time only use the toothpicks to mine the chocolate chips out of the cookie. But this round quality is the goal. Be careful and try to keep the chocolate chips intact. Don't worry about how many you mine out. Focus on getting them out whole. Again, when the timer goes off stop mining.
#6: Explain how this methods represents how paleontologists excavate fossils.
This method is more similar to how paleontologists use tools to carefully excavate fossils. Paleontologists also tend to take more time to excavate. They usually plan to spend days or even weeks in the field to excavate fossils.
#7: Go over the differences between tourists and paleontologists collecting fossils and the importance of conservation of the fossils for future generations
Look at the two cookies. If you could only eat one cookie with none of the chocolate chips that were removed, which cookie would you want more? The cookie you tried to get the most chips out of, or the one you were more careful with excavating?
Thankfully, through the efforts of several lawyers and environmental activists (including a number of concerned local citizens), the area was designated as Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument in 1969. Since then, the National Park Service has worked to preserve and conserve the fossils of Florissant Valley. This way, we can help ensure that people today and future generations are all able to see the fossils and experience the monument as nature intended.

Vocabulary

• Conservation: noun; a careful preservation and protection of something

• Preservation: noun; a keeping from injury, loss, or decay

Assessment Materials

Reflection

Remind the student(s) about the history of the Florissant valley. Explain to them had it not been for the declaration of Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument, we may not have the fossils we have today. Also, explain to them that during the time fossil collecting was legal in the area; many fossils were taken out and can never be replaced. With that said, there is also benefit to the fossil collecting that occurred in the area. Thankfully, many of the fossils collected early on in the Florissant valley ended up in the hands of scientists who were able to study the fossils and publish information on them. The important distinction the students should make here is the difference between amateur and professional fossil collecting.
Ask the student(s) to explain how this activity reflects the consequences of fossil collecting on an amateur and professional level. The student(s) should be able to state that in this activity, the chocolate chips represent fossils.

Tell the student(s) that with the first cookie, they were only given one minute to mine chocolate chips with their fingers so that they could take out most of them in a quick and careless way. The second time they were given three minutes to mine chocolate chips using toothpicks. This was done intentionally to represent the careful and slow process that paleontologists take when collecting fossils.

Ask the student(s) why they prefer to eat the second cookie as opposed to the first. Their answers will likely state that they want to eat the cookie that has more chocolate chips in it because it is more appealing and has better taste. Not just that, but the slow and careful toothpick method helped to keep the other emplaced chocolate chips in better condition. Explain to the students that the same goes for fossils. The more fossils we have at the monument, the more appealing it is to visitors and the more chances of being able to answer future scientific questions of the fossils. Also, if fossil collecting is going to take place, scientists must be slow and careful in their process so that they do not destroy other fossils and/or the landscape in the process.

Additional Resources

Check out our Cookie Conservation activity webpage for step by step instructions with pictures!

Contact Information

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