Exploring Fossils | Cleveland Museum of Natural History

Fossils are clues to past environments. Discover how fossils form and investigate shared characteristics of fossils from a particular environment by using the same paleontology techniques that experts use.

Teacher Guide

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Ohio’s Learning Standards

Grade 2

Life Science – Interactions Within Habitats

Living things cause changes on Earth.
All organisms alive today result from their ancestors, some of which may be extinct. Not all kinds of organisms that lived in the past are represented by living organisms today.

Grade 3

Life Science – Behavior, Growth, and Change

Offspring resemble their parents and each other.
Individuals of the same kind of organism differ in their inherited traits. These differences give some individuals an advantage in surviving and/or reproducing.
Plants and animals have life cycles that are part of their adaptations for survival in their natural environments.

Grade 4

Life Science – Earth's Living History

Changes in an organism’s environment are sometimes beneficial to its survival and sometimes harmful.
Fossils can be compared to one another and to present-day organisms according to their similarities and differences.

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Guided, Assembly, and Live Animal Programs ($15/student, PreK-12, $300 minimum fee for fewer than 20 students) Important note: Lunch space is limited.

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2nd grade

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We recommend staying no more than 2.5 hours including a program and lunch break.

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Are you a Title 1 school in Ohio (the number of economically disadvantaged students is 40% or above)? You can check under school details at Ohio School Report Cards. Title 1 schools in Ohio may qualify for free programming, first come first served while grant funding lasts.

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