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The Raymond Alf Museum of Paleontology acts as a unique resource for students of The Webb Schools as they have the opportunity to learn all about paleontology. Reciprocally, the museum benefits from a large workforce of enthusiastic and able student collectors and curators. Students at Webb learn about paleontology in three settings: they participate in the collection of fossils on peccary trips, they enroll in classes taught by museum staff, and they participate in the museum afterschool program (preparing and curating specimens). Museum Field Excursions Peccary Trips Since the late 1930s, fossil collecting trips for Webb students have been known as "peccary trips." During the academic year, most peccary trips go to Barstow. Students learn collection techniques such as prospecting (walking and looking for specimens lying exposed on the ground), quarrying (removing a specimen from rock using tools) and screen-washing (using a screen to sift through rock to recover small fossils). Summer Peccary Research Trip Every summer the museum offers the Summer Peccary Research Trip, led by Museum Director Don Lofgren, which is scheduled for late July- early August. This trip is designed for students who wish to be part of a field research crew, but at the same time have a fun and adventurous experience (side trips to national parks/monuments are scheduled as well). Over the next few years, the museum will concentrate its summer efforts on collecting in the North Horn and Kaiparowits formations of Utah. For more information, contact Museum Director Don Lofgren. Classes Museum Research This course covers the basic methodology of scientific research. Research is investigation of something new or unknown. Once this material is covered, students then assist on museum research projects. Projects can be sparked by a discovery made through fieldwork or lab work or by analysis of previously made collections. Students collect and analyze data and then review and interpret the data. They develop conclusions based on interpretation of data. The final step is to write up the results of the project and submit it for publication if applicable. Class activities vary depending on current museum projects, but usually include reviewing relevant paleontological literature, gathering, analyzing and interpreting scientific data, outlining results in written form, attending a paleontology conference, and assisting in the preparation of a manuscript presenting results of the project. Honors Advanced Study in Paleontology This course covers virtually every aspect of a natural history museum as its basic tenet is centered around the idea of students as museum scientists. To this end, students in the course acquire the scientific background necessary to work with fossils in a museum and also learn how museums obtain fossils, techniques employed in collecting and problems associated with procurement. Next, they study curation of fossils--how they are organized, stored, and archived. Students are then introduced to scientific literature and are taught how to analyze data and arguments presented in research papers. More than just gaining knowledge of how a bone goes from the ground to a display case, students glean an appreciation for the value of natural history museums and the 99% of fossils that never go on display. Museum Afterschool Program Webb students may choose to participate in an afterschool program at the Alf Museum where they work in the Preparation Lab, preparing fossils found on peccary trips. Here, one might find them extracting a Miocene horse tooth from hard sandstone using an air scribe or preparing a giant turtle shell for display. Students learn a variety of professional techniques for cleaning and repairing specimens. Other activities, such as fossil identification, are addressed as well.
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