This classroom exercise utilizes a free mobile virtual reality app to introduce students to (1) the process by which paleoanthropologists find and interpret fossils, (2) the importance of two recent hominin fossil finds in the Cradle of Humankind of South Africa, and (3) the variety of science careers that contribute to paleoanthropological research. Before their virtual field trip, learners are introduced to the Homo naledi and Australopithecus sediba discoveries and to some of the researchers from the team through a collection of online resources. In the app, learners explore and find fossils in the Dinaledi Chamber of Rising Star Cave in South Africa, where the first fossils of H. naledi were found. Postexploration analysis and reflection prompts encourage learners to consider how researchers decide how and where to excavate, which skills are needed to study our human origins, and why this research is important.
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February 2022
Research Article|
February 01 2022
Explore Paleoanthropology Fieldwork: A Virtual Expedition to Rising Star Cave (South Africa) with DinalediVR
Andrew Montgomery,
Andrew Montgomery
ANDREW MONTGOMERY was the inaugural Science Communication Fellow, Perot Museum of Nature and Science, Dallas, TX 75201.
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Becca Peixotto
Becca Peixotto
BECCA PEIXOTTO was curator of the Origins: Fossils from the Cradle of Humankind exhibit at the Center for the Exploration of the Human Journey, Perot Museum of Nature and Science, Dallas, TX 75201. E-mail: [email protected].
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The American Biology Teacher (2022) 84 (2): 100–102.
Citation
Andrew Montgomery, Becca Peixotto; Explore Paleoanthropology Fieldwork: A Virtual Expedition to Rising Star Cave (South Africa) with DinalediVR. The American Biology Teacher 1 February 2022; 84 (2): 100–102. doi: https://doi.org/10.1525/abt.2022.84.2.100
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