Wanted: Oscar Obsidian - Auckland Museum

least 10 pages).
· Use volcano visit information and any other
ideas to construct a diagram of what has happened
to an Auckland volcano. Start with the
eruption. Discuss what happens next and continue
to include how Maori and Pakeha may have
changed the volcano.
· Collect newspaper and magazine pictures of
volcanoes around the world. Try and find one
that has been active recently.
2. Rocks
· Use rocks collected and additional volcanic rocks
to group and classify. Divisions may include:
heavy/light, rough/smooth, dark/light etc extend
by including whether they came from a volcano.
Rocks that come from a volcano have holes in
them e.g. scoria and pumice, or else have large
crystals e.g. granite. Play a 'guess my rock group'
game.
· Try some heating and cooling activities. List children's
ideas of what happens to things when they
get heated. Watch a candle melt, boil some
water, look at an element in a heater. Record
before and after ideas pictorially. Make jelly or
toffee. Predict what will happen when the mixture
cools. Children suggest and try different
ways of cooling e.g. on a bench, in a fridge, in
water. Record results. Try changing different
aspects e.g. the size of the container. Does it
affect the cooling? Link the ideas to lava cooling
and rock forming.
· Children could choose a rock that they really
like. Try and give them the correct name for it.
Children could then decide a way that they could
use the rock e.g. for jewellery, building etc, based
on some of its observable properties.
3. Dinosaurs and Fossils
· Borrow fossil samples or use photographs to
group and classify as animal or plant. Include
recent leaves and shells. Animal fossils could be
grouped further into those with wings, sharp teeth
etc.
· Make fossils. Select a shell or bone. Cover in
vaseline and press into plasticine or clay. Remove
the shell and fill the imprint with wet Plaster of
Paris mix. When set hard, remove the plaster fossil
from the plasticine mould.
· Use the skeleton collection from the pre-visit
activities to construct a ‘who passed here’ game.
Children match pictures or real objects with the
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skeletons. The game could be extended by using
footprints, insect marks on leaves, droppings etc
· Compare dinosaurs with some familiar animals
today e.g. body form, teeth, skeletons, lifestyle.
Identify them as reptiles and look for examples of
reptiles around now. Show in a poster form.
· Make a display of what we know about
dinosaurs.
PRE-VISIT LEARNING ACTIVITIES
LEVEL 3 AND 4
Focus Questions
· Where are Auckland's volcanoes and how were
they made?
· Has the land always looked like this?
· What rock is this?
· What do I notice about this rock?
· How could I use this rock?
· What is a dinosaur?
· What is a fossil and how are they made?
· What things lived in New Zealand a long time
ago?
Possible Learning Activities
1. Volcanoes
· Carry out a post box activity to a) identify what
students want to know about volcanoes and b)
what they actually know. One question could ask
'what do I want to know?', and 4 questions could
be about volcanoes.
· Read a legend or story about a volcano e.g. a
myth of Rangitoto (refer activity sheets).
· Visit a local volcano. Identify the cone, crater,
any volcanic rocks, ash layers, lava etc Try and
identify other volcanoes. Are they the same
shape? Try and identify evidence indicating
human use of the volcano.
2. Rocks
· Begin a rock collection. Try and include rocks
which are igneous (volcanic). These might have
holes e.g. pumice and scoria, or have large crystals
e.g. granite. Also include some sedimentary
rocks (soft) e.g. sandstone, mudstone. Students
contribute to the collection with rocks they find.
· Make your own sandstone using half sand and
Plaster of Paris in water. Later experiment with
grinding other rocks against both real sandstone
and artificial sandstone. Compare hardness and
abrasiveness.
· Make a list of words which could describe these
rocks then try sorting the rocks into groups which
Auckland Museum
Pre and Postvisit
Activities