Field Museum

Silurian Cephalopods possessed long, hard, segmented shells like the one shown in this fossil. They also possessed soft bodies with tentacles. These softer parts of their bodies were seldom, if not never, been preserved in fossils.

Fossil Formation

Image of a skin impression fossil from the dinosaur Edmontosaurus.

Fossil Excavation

Observe these silurian creatures' fossils and the ways artists have imagined them. What do you notice about the animal structures pictured in these fossil images and their artist renderings? Are these fossils of complete organisms, or partial organisms? How do you think scientists and artists are able to reconstruct what an organism looked like when only partial fossil evidence is available?

Silurian Fossils and Artists Illustrations

The rock cycle illustrates the relationship between different types of rocks. Igneous or sedimentary rocks can turn into metamorphic rocks when heat and pressure are applied to these rocks. Igneous rocks are formed when melted rock cools. Sedimentary rock forms when small deposits of rock or bone are compacted into one mass, usually in underwater conditions.  

Rock Layers

In the last activity, you learned about cast, mold, trace and imprint fossils. Use this annotation activity to draw a diagram or graphic organizer explaining what you know about these different types of fossils and how they form. 

Draw Fossil Types

Learn about how paleontologists excavate, preserve, and use fossils to study Earth's past life!

All About Fossils

Community Science and Biodiversity

There are hundreds of thousands of bird specimens in Field Museum's collections. Take a look at some of the ways these specimens are prepared and stored so that scientists and researchers can access and study them! 

Museum Specimens - Birds

Scientists use many pieces of evidence to determine evolutionary relatedness between species. One of these is using species’ genomes to examine similarity and differences in the genetic code. 

Genomic Analysis

Specimen Preparation - Clearing and Staining

This artist's rendering depicts a creature that lived as early as 400 million years ago, the Trilobite. 

Prehistoric Specimens 

In this activity and the next one, you will label similarities and differences you see in these two lichen specimens using only your eyes. 

Why Genomic Analysis? Part 1

In this activity and the previous one, you will label similarities and differences you see in these two lichen specimens using only your eyes. 

Why Genomic Analysis? Part 2

In the last two activities, you attempted to identify differences in two lichen specimens using only your eyes. Was that an easy tasks? Based on your experience, hypothesize why it might be useful to utilize genomics when studying evolution. 

Using Genomic Data 

The Field Museum is home to millions of specimens from all over the world collected over the past hundred years and stored on-site in state of the art facilities.

Introduction to the Resource Kit

As you explore the modules in this kit, keep this graphic organizer open in a separate window. You can use the zoom, move, text or draw tools to take notes on what you learn about how museum collections can be and are used to study evolution and biodiversity!

Note Catcher

Herbarium sheets are a critical preservation tool that allowing scientists and plant-lovers to keep plant specimens from the field intact and ready to study for long periods of time. Learn more about what makes up an herbarium sheet looks like by exploring this image!

Specimen Preparation - Herbarium Sheets

Discover how researchers use Field Museum's millions of specimen to document and study evolution and the world's biodiversity.

Museum Collections and Research

Life Science

Science

phacops.jpg

TRILOBITES are an extinct group of arthropods and possessed a head, thorax and tail. Exceptionally-preserved trilobites also show legs and antennae. Isopods, commonly known as sowbugs or pillbugs, are a modern arthropod that resembles trilobites in many ways. 

This trilobite lived during the middle of the Devonian period.  

Trilobite - Phacopes rana milleri

Description

Object Information

Appears In

All About Fossils

Museum Collections and Research