Wanted: Oscar Obsidian - Auckland Museum

Pre and Postvisit
Activities
fit the word list. Extend by grouping according to
whether they might have come from a volcano or
are soft rocks.
· Take a walk around your neighbourhood and try
and identify ways in which volcanic rocks have
been used e.g. walls, paving.
· Brainstorm who could be used as an expert by
the class e.g. Maori historians, geologists.
3. Dinosaurs and Fossils
· Brainstorm how they know whether something is
living. Look for words like: moving, growing, eating,
having babies, breathing.
· Group things by playing 'Animal, Plant (vegetable),
Never Alive (mineral). Identify which of
these could become a fossil.
· Make several different fossil rocks using Plaster
of Paris mixed with a number of items e.g. bones,
shell, leaves, twigs. Children break open the fossil
rock to discover the fossils. They can make up
their own stories about how the thing became a
fossil.
· Look at a number of sedimentary rocks. Identify
some of the properties of this rock. Discuss how
the rocks are formed and why it is that fossils are
sometimes found in sedimentary rocks.
· Brainstorm ideas about dinosaurs: what they
looked like, when and where they lived, what they
ate, are there any around now, names of some.
· Children select one type of dinosaur to research,
including factors like: what it was called, when it
lived, what it ate, what it looked like, any interesting
behaviours. Work can be developed as a
book, model, video, game etc. Each child presents
their work to the class in a short speech.
· Make a model of a dinosaur using wire netting
covered with plaster, then layers of paper which
are then painted.
POST-VISIT LEARNING ACTIVITIES
LEVEL 3 AND 4
1. Volcanoes
· Use volcano visit information and any other
ideas to construct a diagram or model 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.
· Try making a flip book of a volcano erupting (at
least 10 pages).
· Write a magazine article about a volcanic eruption,
including scientific information, pictures and
Auckland Museum 21
stories of individuals involved.
· Use Rangitoto or Auckland volcanic legends to
create your own legend about a specific volcano.
· Research volcano types in Auckland e.g. scoria
cones caused by fire-fountaining, tuff rings caused
by explosive eruptions, or shield volcanoes and
lava flows. As a class construct a model of
Auckland's volcanic field identifying the volcano
shapes, lava flows and relative sizes.
· Carry out a fieldtrip of Meola Reef or some
other area which demonstrates a volcanic formation
other than a scoria cone. What plants are
now growing? How has the land been used?
· Debate what should be done with Auckland's
volcanoes e.g. should they be quarried, made into
parks, tourist attractions etc. Find out what the
plans for your local volcano is from the City
Council.
· After research on Rangitoto, write a diary spanning
a week in the life of a village dweller on
Motutapu island.
· Research New Zealand's spectacular volcanic
events e.g. Tarawera, Mt Taranaki, Taupo, White
Island or recently Ruapehu.
2. Rocks
· Use rocks collected and additional volcanic rocks
to group and classify. Highlight the features of
volcanic (igneous) rocks e.g the holes in scoria,
pumice, basalt, the large crystals in granite, the
anomaly of obsidian. Identify the soft sedimentary
rocks which sometimes hold fossils.
· Try some heating and cooling activities. Make
hokey pokey rocks. Investigate how the rate of
cooling affects the final 'rock', e.g. cooling in a
fridge quickly, or cooling slowly on a bench.
Encourage students to repeat the experiment this
time changing one other aspect. Compare to the
textures of scoria and basalt, or pumice and
obsidian.
· Design experiments to test the best rocks for
specific uses e.g. a hangi stone (use hot water), a
piece of jewellery, an old Maori scraping tool or
fishing net float, a chopping tool.
· Grow a copper sulphate crystal. What happens
to crystal size if it is cooled quickly or slowly?
· Write a legend about a specific type of rock
e.g. pounamu, obsidian.
· Date rock layers using a picture or by visiting a
local road cutting or river bed. Alternatively construct
own rock layers using different coloured jellies.
Try to show what might happen in an earth-