Young paleontologists ready to dig into Dinosaur Club

WiltonBulletin.com: Young paleontologists ready to dig into Dinosaur Club
Quick, name the two Connecticut dinosaurs known from skeletons that were discovered in a Manchester sandstone quarry in the late 1800s.

Answer: Anchisaurus and Ammosaurus.

These are the type of questions students in grades 4-6 are asked in the annual Paleo-Knowledge Bowl held at Yale’s Peabody Museum in November.

Wilton students are gearing up to “defend Wilton’s history of paleontological prowess” in the bowl, with the launch of the second annual Dinosaur Club, according to coach Darrell Fennell. Meetings will take place in the Wilton Library beginning June 6, from 4 to 5.

Mr. Fennell said the sessions are “rigorous and challenging, and will involve experiments, model-building, multi-media presentations, and research in geology, paleontology, paleobiology and evolution. The ultimate goal will be to field a team to enter the 14th annual Paleo-Knowledge Bowl.”

The Peabody Museum is known for its “Great Hall,” which houses the massive, life-sized skeletons of a Stegosaurus and an Archelon, an extinct turtle species around the size of an SUV, and is surrounded by a 100-foot long “Age of Reptiles” mural.

Mr. Fennell said the competition consists of “a battle of knowledge among teams of young paleontology buffs done in rounds in a ‘College Bowl’ format. The questions are tough and largely center on dinosaurs, but may involve all aspects of the study of ancient life including the identities of the discoverers, theories of the behavior of ancient animals, early hominids and continental drift.”

In 2007, a Wilton team finished second, then followed with first, second and third place awards. Mr. Fennell, a retired lawyer, said approximately 20 teams from across the state usually compete.

For the youthful paleontology experts, the Peabody Museum “provides fossils and books to the winning teams; and for the top two teams a family membership for each teammate and a behind-the-scenes tour of the museum,” Mr. Fennell said. “The tours allow the students to see some of the collections not on display to the public, and also to meet some of the world famous scientists working at Yale.”

Mr. Fennell said the Wilton tradition started with Emmy Miller, a young dinosaur buff, and her mother, Michelle. The family was from Utah, where Emmy had gone on a dinosaur dig. When they came to Wilton, they learned of the Paleo Knowledge Bowl, and went to see it.

Ms. Miller said she was “blown away” by how technical the questions were and the competitive level of the participants.

The next year, Ms. Miller coached a team that included her daughter that took second place. The following year, Emmy and Katherine Fennell, Mr. Fennell’s daughter, won the competition.

“They were able to beat a team from Hamden by correctly identifying a fossil skull as belonging to a whale rather than a reptile,” Mr. Fennell said.

So how could they tell?

“The key lies in how a whale’s skull is hinged onto its jaw,” he said.

Last year, the Wilton Library sponsored the team from Wilton, and hosted a summer Dinosaur Club. Under the direction of Children’s Librarian Lesley Keogh and with assistance from Mr. Fennell, “students spent the summer learning about dinosaurs and other early life forms with hands-on examinations of fossils and vertebrate skeletons, experiments, modeling and slide presentations in various aspects of earth sciences and the history of life on earth. It will show the interrelatedness of life, and the preciousness of life,” he said.

Kids are fascinated with dinosaurs, according to Mr. Fennell, and the club and competition is a “good way of getting them into a high level science enrichment program ... Dinosaurs are the most successful form of life ever created on Earth. They dominated the planet for 140 million years, until an asteroid ended their reign.”

The first session at the library will involve “fossilization and the nature of the fossil record over deep time,” Mr. Fennell said.

To register, visit the Wilton Library’s Web site and click on the entry for the Dinosaur Club in the events section of the home page. Information: dkfennell@yahoo.com This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or Andrea McElroy at amcelroy2@optimum.net This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .