THE WORDS "ATTENTION-deficit hyperactivity disorder" may conjure images of a distracted, overenergetic little boy, but such preconceptions are often mistaken and can seriously mislead.
Two recent papers in the Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology suggest that clinicians sometimes don't recognize the symptoms of ADHD when they show up in girls and adolescents. A boy is twice as likely to be diagnosed with ADHD as a girl with the same symptoms, even if he does not fit all the diagnostic criteria. While there is a true gender disparity in the occurrence of ADHD, it is exaggerated by practitioners, says Stephen Hinshaw, a psychologist at the University of California at Berkeley.
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]
Diagnosing ADHD in adolescents is also tacky, since teenagers with the disorder are impulsive, inattentive, and disorganized--but not necessarily hyperactive, explains Margaret Sibley, a psychologist at Florida International University. Different symptoms do not mean fewer problems. A 15-year-old girl who runs stop signs and can never find her homework might not be a rebel--she could just have ADHD.
FOCUS UP
Stimulant drugs, behavior therapy, and a combination of the two can all be effective in treating ADHD, but behavior therapy is crucial for long-term success. Three primary stakeholders need to be on board:
Families: Parents create structure by ignoring minor annoyances like fidgeting and encouraging good behavior through point systems and contracts ("you finish your homework, I'll leave you alone to watch TV").
Schools: Clinicians work with teachers to inculcate behaviors to which ADHD students aspire (e.g., staying in their seats). Games that involve the whole class--which-ever side of the room is the best-behaved wins--take the focus off a single problem child.
Patients: Kids often show major improvement in behavior after residential summer programs that simulate school and social settings but enforce a rigid point system that rewards following directions and staying on task.
Bates, Mary
Source Citation
Bates, Mary. "Calm down, boys: adolescent girls have ADHD, too." Psychology Today May-June 2012: 17. Psychology Collection. Web. 18 June 2012.
Document URL
http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CA289834639&v=2.1&u=22054_acld&it=r&p=PPPC&sw=w
Gale Document Number: GALE|A289834639
Showing posts with label Healthcare. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Healthcare. Show all posts
Monday, June 18, 2012
Tuesday, April 24, 2012
Technology and people with disabilities
This column has a simple purpose but a difficult goal--discuss issues that affect the lives, well-being, and state of mind of those who must live and cope with a disability and do so in a humorous way. Not an easy thing to do, since there is certainly nothing funny or humorous about having a disability or in the obstacles that those with chronic disabilities encounter daily (I've had multiple sclerosis [MS] for 40 years and use a wheelchair). However, I've personally found that humor has, to a great extent, helped me cope with my disability, and I hope this column helps others with disabilities to do so as well.
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]
It would be a gross understate-ment to say that I'm "technologically challenged." "Technologically inept," as my sons repeatedly remind me, is a more precise characterization of my (in)ability with today's gadgets. Terms such as "iPhone," "iPad," and "iPod Touch" mean little to nothing to me, a person who's still trying to figure out how to operate the remote control for the TV (that I've had for three years).
A recent conference here in San Diego put on by Cal State University Northridge--the International Technology & Persons with Disabilities Conference--really shocked me out of my electronic malaise and opened my eyes to the many ways today's tech advances can help individuals with disabilities.
Technology Designed for People with Disabilities
In the first demonstration at the conference, a man who was blind demonstrated his use of an iPhone 4S by holding it close to his ear and placing his finger over the phone's display screen. The smartphone voiced the particular application his finger was above. The man then scrolled through other applications, a description of each similarly being read to him, until he found the application he wanted. He then simply tapped the app to open it.
This smartphone allowed the man to use a touch screen without the necessity of a keypad and without having to buy other costly software.
Other Innovations
Other technological innovations demonstrated at the conference included the following:
* Eye-Pro GS Eyegaze from Words+. This technology permits individuals, who do not have the use of their arms or hands, to use a computer by moving a cursor with eye movements and without a mouse. To accomplish this, a small camera is installed on a magnetized base just about where the keyboard would be on a standard PC. The user then performs a calibration procedure, usually with the help of a technician, by staring at dots in different areas of the monitor screen until the dots turn green. The user then selects something either by staring at it for several seconds or by blinking hard. Cost: $7,480.
* Topaz XL HD Magnifier by Freedom Scientific. This is a high definition desktop video magnifier that provides sharp, magnified images of print of all sizes. The magnifier is sold with its own 17-to-24 inch screen and software that allows users to view magnified images on their computer monitors. Because it can be difficult for a user to find their place on a page when working at high magnification, the topaz magnifier contains a Find button that allows the user to zoom out for an overview of the page. Crosshairs allow the user to center the section of interest, and a release button then zooms the user back in to their working magnification level. Cost: $2,195 to $3,695.
* Proloquo2Go Software from AssistiveWare. This software enables people with autism, or who have difficulty verbalizing, to communicate by tapping symbols that are contained on small tiles. Sentences are then verbalized in natural-sounding adult or child voices. For instance, if the user wants to communicate "I am happy to see you," he or she would touch six tiles: the first being a stick figure pointing to itself (for "I"), the second being an equals sign (=) (for "am"), the third being a happy face (for "happy"), the fourth being a red arrow pointed to the right (for "to"), the fifth being a face with an arrow pointing to the eye (for "see"), and the sixth tile being two stick figures pointing to each other (for "you"). This app is loaded on an iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad. Costs $190.
* PlexTalk Pocket DAISY Player PTP1. This pocketsized gadget is a DAISY (Digital Access Information System)-compliant music, voice, and book player/recorder that's designed for people with vision impairments or dyslexia. It features a high quality built-in microphone for easy DAISY structured voice recording, and voice memo recording capability to help users remember telephone numbers, appointments, "To Do" lists, etc. An additional built-in large speaker allows playback of voice recordings, voice memos, DAISY audio books, text-based DAISY books and MP3's. Playback can be accessed from the External USB Drive, as well as using the Embedded Text-To-Speech Engine. Cost ranges from $275 to $350.
* Human Information Management Systems Braille Edge 40. This is a keyboard display that is linked to a personal computer, smartphone or tablet wirelessly using Bluetooth. Designed for the blind and visually impaired, it also helps users manage their daily activities by taking advantage of a built-in Notepad, Scheduler, Alarm & Clock, and Calculator. This is a new product. No pricing for it has as yet been released.
Levinson, Jerry
Source Citation
Levinson, Jerry. "Technology and people with disabilities." The Exceptional Parent Apr. 2012: 56. Psychology Collection. Web. 24 Apr. 2012.
Document URL
http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CA287391748&v=2.1&u=22054_acld&it=r&p=PPPC&sw=w
Gale Document Number: GALE|A287391748
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]
It would be a gross understate-ment to say that I'm "technologically challenged." "Technologically inept," as my sons repeatedly remind me, is a more precise characterization of my (in)ability with today's gadgets. Terms such as "iPhone," "iPad," and "iPod Touch" mean little to nothing to me, a person who's still trying to figure out how to operate the remote control for the TV (that I've had for three years).
A recent conference here in San Diego put on by Cal State University Northridge--the International Technology & Persons with Disabilities Conference--really shocked me out of my electronic malaise and opened my eyes to the many ways today's tech advances can help individuals with disabilities.
Technology Designed for People with Disabilities
In the first demonstration at the conference, a man who was blind demonstrated his use of an iPhone 4S by holding it close to his ear and placing his finger over the phone's display screen. The smartphone voiced the particular application his finger was above. The man then scrolled through other applications, a description of each similarly being read to him, until he found the application he wanted. He then simply tapped the app to open it.
This smartphone allowed the man to use a touch screen without the necessity of a keypad and without having to buy other costly software.
Other Innovations
Other technological innovations demonstrated at the conference included the following:
* Eye-Pro GS Eyegaze from Words+. This technology permits individuals, who do not have the use of their arms or hands, to use a computer by moving a cursor with eye movements and without a mouse. To accomplish this, a small camera is installed on a magnetized base just about where the keyboard would be on a standard PC. The user then performs a calibration procedure, usually with the help of a technician, by staring at dots in different areas of the monitor screen until the dots turn green. The user then selects something either by staring at it for several seconds or by blinking hard. Cost: $7,480.
* Topaz XL HD Magnifier by Freedom Scientific. This is a high definition desktop video magnifier that provides sharp, magnified images of print of all sizes. The magnifier is sold with its own 17-to-24 inch screen and software that allows users to view magnified images on their computer monitors. Because it can be difficult for a user to find their place on a page when working at high magnification, the topaz magnifier contains a Find button that allows the user to zoom out for an overview of the page. Crosshairs allow the user to center the section of interest, and a release button then zooms the user back in to their working magnification level. Cost: $2,195 to $3,695.
* Proloquo2Go Software from AssistiveWare. This software enables people with autism, or who have difficulty verbalizing, to communicate by tapping symbols that are contained on small tiles. Sentences are then verbalized in natural-sounding adult or child voices. For instance, if the user wants to communicate "I am happy to see you," he or she would touch six tiles: the first being a stick figure pointing to itself (for "I"), the second being an equals sign (=) (for "am"), the third being a happy face (for "happy"), the fourth being a red arrow pointed to the right (for "to"), the fifth being a face with an arrow pointing to the eye (for "see"), and the sixth tile being two stick figures pointing to each other (for "you"). This app is loaded on an iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad. Costs $190.
* PlexTalk Pocket DAISY Player PTP1. This pocketsized gadget is a DAISY (Digital Access Information System)-compliant music, voice, and book player/recorder that's designed for people with vision impairments or dyslexia. It features a high quality built-in microphone for easy DAISY structured voice recording, and voice memo recording capability to help users remember telephone numbers, appointments, "To Do" lists, etc. An additional built-in large speaker allows playback of voice recordings, voice memos, DAISY audio books, text-based DAISY books and MP3's. Playback can be accessed from the External USB Drive, as well as using the Embedded Text-To-Speech Engine. Cost ranges from $275 to $350.
* Human Information Management Systems Braille Edge 40. This is a keyboard display that is linked to a personal computer, smartphone or tablet wirelessly using Bluetooth. Designed for the blind and visually impaired, it also helps users manage their daily activities by taking advantage of a built-in Notepad, Scheduler, Alarm & Clock, and Calculator. This is a new product. No pricing for it has as yet been released.
Levinson, Jerry
Source Citation
Levinson, Jerry. "Technology and people with disabilities." The Exceptional Parent Apr. 2012: 56. Psychology Collection. Web. 24 Apr. 2012.
Document URL
http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CA287391748&v=2.1&u=22054_acld&it=r&p=PPPC&sw=w
Gale Document Number: GALE|A287391748
Wednesday, April 4, 2012
Psychology
psychology and human life adustments.
******* 
(Web-Page) http://dinosaur.hunter2008.googlepages.com 
(Album / Profile) Len Wilson | Create Your Badge
leonard.wilson2008@hotmail.com
(Web-Page) http://dinosaur.hunter2008.googlepages.com (Album / Profile) Len Wilson | Create Your Badge leonard.wilson2008@hotmail.com Monday, March 26, 2012
THE BLAKE GRIFFIN WORKOUT
LEARN THE TRAINING SECRETS OF THE NBA'S MOST EXCITING PLAYER
WORKOUT BY ROBBIE DAVIS, C.S.C.S.
STRONGER, FASTER, HIGHER
USE THIS ROUTINE TO TAKE YOUR GAME TO AN ALL-NEW LEVEL
Blake Griffin may be the single most explosive athlete in strength and power exercises. Performing the strength exercise the world today, says Robbie Davis, C.S.C.S., Griffin's strength first primes the mind-muscle connection for doing the power coach and the owner of Gameshape in Los Angeles. Yes, great move at top speed--the key to improving explosiveness. Ready genes help. But that title doesn't come without work. That's why to take a page from Griffin's training plan? Then try this workout Davis has Griffin follow a routine that uses a one-two punch of from Davis. It'll have you soaring in no time.
DIRECTIONS
Do this workout 3 days a week, resting a day between sessions. Perform each pair of exercises (for instance, 1A and 1B, 2A and 2B, and so on) as a superset. That is, do 8 to 12 repetitions of the "A" exercise followed immediately by 3 to 5 repetitions of the "B" exercise with no rest in between. Rest for 60 to 90 seconds and repeat. Do a total of 3 or 4 sets of each exercise before moving on to the next pair and repeating the procedure. For the B (or power) exercises, use a medicine ball that's about 5 to 10 percent of your body weight.
For video instructions and a digital training guide, check out this workout online at mhpersonaltrainer.com. There you'll also find a complete nutrition plan that you can customize for your goals and lifestyle.
EXERCISE 1A
Dumbbell Lunge, Curl, and Press
Stand holding a pair of dumbbells at your sides, palms facing each other and feet hip-width apart. This is the starting position [A]. Keeping your torso upright, step forward with your right foot and lower your body until your right knee is bent 90 degrees. Hold that position and curl the dumbbells to your shoulders [B]. Then press the dumbbells directly above your shoulders until your arms are straight [C]. Lower the dumbbells back to your sides, and then push yourself back to the starting position.
EXERCISE 2A
Dumbbell Box Squat, Overhead Press, and Calf Raise
Sit at the end of a bench and hold a pair of dumbbells next to your shoulders, with your elbows bent and palms facing each other. Set your feet wider than shoulder-width apart and your lower legs nearly perpendicular to the floor. Brace your core (as if you're about to be punched in the gut), tighten your glutes and thighs, and lean your torso slightly forward [A]. Without moving your torso, stand up [B]. Then in one move, press the dumbbells directly over your shoulders while raising your heels as high as you can [C]. Reverse the moves and return to the bench.
EXERCISE 3A
Basketball-Stance Pushup and Row
Hold a pair of dumbbells and assume a pushup position, but with your knees bent instead of straight and your feet about shoulder-width apart. This is the starting position [A]. (Davis uses it because it mimics the lower-body stance often used in basketball.) Bend your arms and lower your body as close to the floor as possible [B]. Push back to the starting position. Keeping your body steady, row the dumbbell in your right hand to the right side your chest [C]. Lower it and repeat rowing on your left side. That's 1 rep.
EXERCISE 1B
Medicine-Ball Split Jump
Hold a medicine ball in front of your chest and stand with your feet 2 to 3 feet apart and staggered, your right foot in front of your left. Keeping your torso upright, bend your legs and lower your body into a lunge [A]. Jump with enough force to propel both feet off the floor, and then scissors-kick your legs [B] so you land with your left foot forward. That's 1 rep. Repeat by switching leg positions.
EXERCISE 2B
Medicine-Ball Backboard Taps
Hold a medicine ball at shoulder height and stand with your feet shoulder-width apart [A]. Dip down into a squat [B], and jump as high as you can while raising the medicine ball above your head and tapping it against a backboard [C]. (If you're not on a basketball court, just try to imagine a backboard.) Land softly and repeat.
EXERCISE 3B
Medicine-Ball Chest Pass
Stand with your feet together a few feet from a wall, and hold a medicine ball in front of your chest [A]. Step forward with your right foot and chest-pass the ball to the wall [B]. Catch the rebound, reset your feet, and repeat, this time stepping forward with your left foot. (You can also pass the ball to a partner instead of bouncing it against a wall.)
((caption)):
Bench press
310-320LB
(last measured when Griffin was in college)
Weight
251 LB
Vertical leap
38"
(from a standing, flat-footed position, jumping off both feet)
Shoe size
17
Wingspan
7'1"
Source Citation
Davis, Robbie. "THE BLAKE GRIFFIN WORKOUT." Men's Health Jan.-Feb. 2012. Psychology Collection. Web. 26 Mar. 2012.
Document URL
http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CA282110138&v=2.1&u=22054_acld&it=r&p=PPPC&sw=w
Gale Document Number: GALE|A282110138
WORKOUT BY ROBBIE DAVIS, C.S.C.S.
STRONGER, FASTER, HIGHER
USE THIS ROUTINE TO TAKE YOUR GAME TO AN ALL-NEW LEVEL
Blake Griffin may be the single most explosive athlete in strength and power exercises. Performing the strength exercise the world today, says Robbie Davis, C.S.C.S., Griffin's strength first primes the mind-muscle connection for doing the power coach and the owner of Gameshape in Los Angeles. Yes, great move at top speed--the key to improving explosiveness. Ready genes help. But that title doesn't come without work. That's why to take a page from Griffin's training plan? Then try this workout Davis has Griffin follow a routine that uses a one-two punch of from Davis. It'll have you soaring in no time.
DIRECTIONS
Do this workout 3 days a week, resting a day between sessions. Perform each pair of exercises (for instance, 1A and 1B, 2A and 2B, and so on) as a superset. That is, do 8 to 12 repetitions of the "A" exercise followed immediately by 3 to 5 repetitions of the "B" exercise with no rest in between. Rest for 60 to 90 seconds and repeat. Do a total of 3 or 4 sets of each exercise before moving on to the next pair and repeating the procedure. For the B (or power) exercises, use a medicine ball that's about 5 to 10 percent of your body weight.
For video instructions and a digital training guide, check out this workout online at mhpersonaltrainer.com. There you'll also find a complete nutrition plan that you can customize for your goals and lifestyle.
EXERCISE 1A
Dumbbell Lunge, Curl, and Press
Stand holding a pair of dumbbells at your sides, palms facing each other and feet hip-width apart. This is the starting position [A]. Keeping your torso upright, step forward with your right foot and lower your body until your right knee is bent 90 degrees. Hold that position and curl the dumbbells to your shoulders [B]. Then press the dumbbells directly above your shoulders until your arms are straight [C]. Lower the dumbbells back to your sides, and then push yourself back to the starting position.
EXERCISE 2A
Dumbbell Box Squat, Overhead Press, and Calf Raise
Sit at the end of a bench and hold a pair of dumbbells next to your shoulders, with your elbows bent and palms facing each other. Set your feet wider than shoulder-width apart and your lower legs nearly perpendicular to the floor. Brace your core (as if you're about to be punched in the gut), tighten your glutes and thighs, and lean your torso slightly forward [A]. Without moving your torso, stand up [B]. Then in one move, press the dumbbells directly over your shoulders while raising your heels as high as you can [C]. Reverse the moves and return to the bench.
EXERCISE 3A
Basketball-Stance Pushup and Row
Hold a pair of dumbbells and assume a pushup position, but with your knees bent instead of straight and your feet about shoulder-width apart. This is the starting position [A]. (Davis uses it because it mimics the lower-body stance often used in basketball.) Bend your arms and lower your body as close to the floor as possible [B]. Push back to the starting position. Keeping your body steady, row the dumbbell in your right hand to the right side your chest [C]. Lower it and repeat rowing on your left side. That's 1 rep.
EXERCISE 1B
Medicine-Ball Split Jump
Hold a medicine ball in front of your chest and stand with your feet 2 to 3 feet apart and staggered, your right foot in front of your left. Keeping your torso upright, bend your legs and lower your body into a lunge [A]. Jump with enough force to propel both feet off the floor, and then scissors-kick your legs [B] so you land with your left foot forward. That's 1 rep. Repeat by switching leg positions.
EXERCISE 2B
Medicine-Ball Backboard Taps
Hold a medicine ball at shoulder height and stand with your feet shoulder-width apart [A]. Dip down into a squat [B], and jump as high as you can while raising the medicine ball above your head and tapping it against a backboard [C]. (If you're not on a basketball court, just try to imagine a backboard.) Land softly and repeat.
EXERCISE 3B
Medicine-Ball Chest Pass
Stand with your feet together a few feet from a wall, and hold a medicine ball in front of your chest [A]. Step forward with your right foot and chest-pass the ball to the wall [B]. Catch the rebound, reset your feet, and repeat, this time stepping forward with your left foot. (You can also pass the ball to a partner instead of bouncing it against a wall.)
((caption)):
Bench press
310-320LB
(last measured when Griffin was in college)
Weight
251 LB
Vertical leap
38"
(from a standing, flat-footed position, jumping off both feet)
Shoe size
17
Wingspan
7'1"
Source Citation
Davis, Robbie. "THE BLAKE GRIFFIN WORKOUT." Men's Health Jan.-Feb. 2012. Psychology Collection. Web. 26 Mar. 2012.
Document URL
http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CA282110138&v=2.1&u=22054_acld&it=r&p=PPPC&sw=w
Gale Document Number: GALE|A282110138
Wednesday, February 8, 2012
Dig This!
Editor's Note: Imagine going on a dinosaur dig! Doesn't the thought of helping to find dinosaur bones millions of years old make your own vertebrae tingle? This month's Fantastic Journeys follows 10th-grade student Shureice Kornegay, from Chicago, Illinois, on a three-week study of paleontology in the field with Paul Sereno (see "People to Discover,") and his wife, educator Gabrielle Lyon. Called "Project Exploration," this program involves much more than just digging up dinosaurs (as if that weren't exciting enough!). Our author hiked the Rockies, visited the Lewis and Clark Museum, made discoveries on Egg Mountain, and did a little bird watching. She made new friends and had lots of fun. Read on to hear more about her magnificent trip to the mountains of Montana.
It was so exciting! I was a Junior Paleontologist on my first field trip to Choteau, Montana! I didn't know what to expect, but I was up for the challenge. On the first day, along with the rest of my Junior Paleontologist (or JP) friends, I headed for the Old Trail Museum to find out what our assignment would be. Paul Sereno, Gabrielle Lyon, and a man nicknamed Wavey Davey [whose real name is David Varrichio] showed us around the museum and told us we would be spending a lot of time there.
Afterward, we headed over to Pine Butte, an area of "badlands," where we split up into two groups. It was a large open space with plenty of hills. Badlands are barren areas with roughly eroded ridges, peaks, and mesas, where bones are likely to be exposed. My group went "prospecting" (looking around for bones) as we climbed up a very steep hill. We took out our pickaxes and dental tools (yes, dental tools), and searched for the best spot to start. I just couldn't wait to start digging up those dino bones!
We found a lot of calcite at our site. Calcite is a very bright, brittle fragment of rock found in sediment. But my friends and I thought that it looked just like bone. We learned a neat trick to help us determine whether the fragments were actually bone -- the "lick test." When you lick a real bone, your tongue sticks to it because bone is porous. Using this technique, we found many small bones that we kept in Ziploc bags. One of my JP friends and I found the tip of a rib! We learned quickly that these bones are very fragile. We used a chemical that acts like super glue to hold the rib tip together as we removed it from the rock.
During the trip, we went on a 12-kilometer hike into the Rockies, and I got to lead the way for a bit. That was pretty exciting! We filled up our water bottles at a freshwater spring along the way to our destination 2,320 meters up into the Rockies. We ended the day with a barbecue back at the museum. We learned about the tribes that had inhabited Montana years and years ago, told some scary stories to see whom we could spook, and roasted marshmallows into the night.
During my journey, I also got to visit Egg Mountain. Egg Mountain is a site where many skeletons of the dinosaur Maiasaura were found, along with nests and babies.
Maiasaura, the "good mother lizard," was about nine meters long, and, like many other dinosaurs, lived in the late Cretaceous Period. At this site, we were trained to recognize small fragments of eggshell, which were very dark, almost black, in the sediment. Prolific bone beds, like the one at Egg Mountain, indicate that the adult Maiasaura dinosaurs probably took care of their young.
I was sad that my expedition had to come to an end. It was so much fun, and I made many great friends. But the best part is still to come. One other JP and I were selected to go back to Montana's Old Trail Museum this summer and work as interns. We'll be assisting in the fields as well as helping to run the museum, and I'll get to stay with a host family while I am there. So it looks like another "fantastic journey" is still ahead.
Project Exploration was created by paleontologist Paul Sereno and educator Gabrielle Lyon to provide innovative, hands-on experiences to city kids, and to inspire student populations that are under-represented in paleontology and the natural science professions. To learn more about, it call (773) 643-3014 or write to: info@projectexploration.org.
HAVE YOU BEEN ON A FANTASTIC JOURNEY? If so, send your report to: Fantastic Journeys, ODYSSEY, 30 Grove Street, Suite C, Peterborough, NH 03458. The report should be 500-650 words long and accompanied by quality photographs or slides, including one of yourself.
SHUREICE KORNEGAY, AGE 15 AMUNDSEN HIGH SCHOOL CHICAGO, IL
Source Citation
KORNEGAY, SHUREICE. "Dig This!" Odyssey Sept. 2000: 40. Gale Power Search. Web. 8 Feb. 2012.
Document URL
http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CA65130929&v=2.1&u=22054_acld&it=r&p=GPS&sw=w
Gale Document Number: GALE|A65130929
Editor's Note: Imagine going on a dinosaur dig! Doesn't the thought of helping to find dinosaur bones millions of years old make your own vertebrae tingle? This month's Fantastic Journeys follows 10th-grade student Shureice Kornegay, from Chicago, Illinois, on a three-week study of paleontology in the field with Paul Sereno (see "People to Discover,") and his wife, educator Gabrielle Lyon. Called "Project Exploration," this program involves much more than just digging up dinosaurs (as if that weren't exciting enough!). Our author hiked the Rockies, visited the Lewis and Clark Museum, made discoveries on Egg Mountain, and did a little bird watching. She made new friends and had lots of fun. Read on to hear more about her magnificent trip to the mountains of Montana.
It was so exciting! I was a Junior Paleontologist on my first field trip to Choteau, Montana! I didn't know what to expect, but I was up for the challenge. On the first day, along with the rest of my Junior Paleontologist (or JP) friends, I headed for the Old Trail Museum to find out what our assignment would be. Paul Sereno, Gabrielle Lyon, and a man nicknamed Wavey Davey [whose real name is David Varrichio] showed us around the museum and told us we would be spending a lot of time there.
Afterward, we headed over to Pine Butte, an area of "badlands," where we split up into two groups. It was a large open space with plenty of hills. Badlands are barren areas with roughly eroded ridges, peaks, and mesas, where bones are likely to be exposed. My group went "prospecting" (looking around for bones) as we climbed up a very steep hill. We took out our pickaxes and dental tools (yes, dental tools), and searched for the best spot to start. I just couldn't wait to start digging up those dino bones!
We found a lot of calcite at our site. Calcite is a very bright, brittle fragment of rock found in sediment. But my friends and I thought that it looked just like bone. We learned a neat trick to help us determine whether the fragments were actually bone -- the "lick test." When you lick a real bone, your tongue sticks to it because bone is porous. Using this technique, we found many small bones that we kept in Ziploc bags. One of my JP friends and I found the tip of a rib! We learned quickly that these bones are very fragile. We used a chemical that acts like super glue to hold the rib tip together as we removed it from the rock.
During the trip, we went on a 12-kilometer hike into the Rockies, and I got to lead the way for a bit. That was pretty exciting! We filled up our water bottles at a freshwater spring along the way to our destination 2,320 meters up into the Rockies. We ended the day with a barbecue back at the museum. We learned about the tribes that had inhabited Montana years and years ago, told some scary stories to see whom we could spook, and roasted marshmallows into the night.
During my journey, I also got to visit Egg Mountain. Egg Mountain is a site where many skeletons of the dinosaur Maiasaura were found, along with nests and babies.
Maiasaura, the "good mother lizard," was about nine meters long, and, like many other dinosaurs, lived in the late Cretaceous Period. At this site, we were trained to recognize small fragments of eggshell, which were very dark, almost black, in the sediment. Prolific bone beds, like the one at Egg Mountain, indicate that the adult Maiasaura dinosaurs probably took care of their young.
I was sad that my expedition had to come to an end. It was so much fun, and I made many great friends. But the best part is still to come. One other JP and I were selected to go back to Montana's Old Trail Museum this summer and work as interns. We'll be assisting in the fields as well as helping to run the museum, and I'll get to stay with a host family while I am there. So it looks like another "fantastic journey" is still ahead.
Project Exploration was created by paleontologist Paul Sereno and educator Gabrielle Lyon to provide innovative, hands-on experiences to city kids, and to inspire student populations that are under-represented in paleontology and the natural science professions. To learn more about, it call (773) 643-3014 or write to: info@projectexploration.org.
HAVE YOU BEEN ON A FANTASTIC JOURNEY? If so, send your report to: Fantastic Journeys, ODYSSEY, 30 Grove Street, Suite C, Peterborough, NH 03458. The report should be 500-650 words long and accompanied by quality photographs or slides, including one of yourself.
SHUREICE KORNEGAY, AGE 15 AMUNDSEN HIGH SCHOOL CHICAGO, IL
Source Citation
KORNEGAY, SHUREICE. "Dig This!" Odyssey Sept. 2000: 40. Gale Power Search. Web. 8 Feb. 2012.
Document URL
http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CA65130929&v=2.1&u=22054_acld&it=r&p=GPS&sw=w
Gale Document Number: GALE|A65130929
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