Canowindra Public School children were very excited to learn about Canowindra’s Fish Fossil discoveries.
Students from Canowindra Public School recently visited the Age of Fishes Museum for a presentation by Dr David McGrath.
Dr McGrath along with Amanda Lane and Lorraine Spear from the AOF museum and Aleysha McGrath created a hands-on experience for the children, exploring a number of questions and answers related to the fish fossil discovery back in the 1950s.
The children have previously visited the Age of Fishes Museum and impressed Dr McGrath with their knowledge of geological age and the fossils found at the site.
This provided the opportunity to look more closely at the uniqueness of the find and incredible rarity of such an event. Scientific theories of billabong, coastal lagoon and lake were enthusiastically discussed in a question-and-answer session. Discussion moved through to early plants to fish food to the catastrophic ending event 360 million years ago.
The frozen moment in time was energetically considered through curious minds with the children displaying an emerging logical thinking and creativity. Did the fish die through drought, storms, or yet to be discovered events and mechanisms?
The scientific process of re-constructing the fish as 3D models was explained through latex moulds placed over the sandstone slabs. There was also time to explore the anatomy of these ancient fish, and consider the evolutionary move to life on land with four limbs.
The children involved themselves with much larger subjects such as continental drift, extinction events and climate change.
Overall, the children left with an increased awareness and appreciation of the significance of the Canowindra fossils, and the possibility of further discoveries on our doorstep.
By Dr David McGrath