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What are the kids asking this week?
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October 9:
Elaine Meldrum, 5th grade gifted
RC Hill School
Romeoville, IL
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Do you use snail mail
or do you use electronic mail because
it is faster? How is the computer
equipment holding up?
Answer:
The computer equipment - given
the extreme heat and all of the dust
- is holding up really, really well.
We also take a lot of precautions.
Almost everything is stored in ziplock
bags or Tupperware containers. We
try not to work if it is really dusty
out. The only thing that has broken
down so far are two of the digital
cameras - sand has gotten into our
zoom lens. Two have stopped working,
but luckily we brought three. -Mike
Hettwer
-
Why did Paul cause
trouble in school when he was younger?
Were you bored or did you find other
things more interesting? What advice
can you give me as a student about
the importance of education?
Answer:
Re:"Why did Paul cause trouble
in school when he was younger--Were
you bored or did you find other things
more interesting?"
Probably I needed attention and that
was the easiest way to get it. I wasn't
sure about my capabilities and didn't
know what I would be able to do or
if I would be successful. I had problems,
but I got my act together before I
graduated from high school and that
was a lucky thing because it meant
I could go to college and a lot of
pathways were open to me.
Re:"What advice can you give me as
a student about the importance of
education?"
I think it is always important as
you pursue your education to do the
things you really enjoy and find interesting.
-Paul
- What happens if a person gets sick
or injured in the field? Can Dr. Lyman
handle most situations? Does he have
enough supplies to treat most illnesses
or injuries in the desert? Do people
ever get really sick on the trip and
have to go home?
Answer:
To prepare the supplies for this kind
of trip, you need to know the place
you're going, the work that will be
done and the people under your care.
In this case, the group is pretty young,
and I got medical background sheets
on everyone. It is very hot here and
dry, there are insects, snakes and scorpions
and I had to prepare for that. Finally,
the work is heavy work with pick axes
and tools. I anticipated smashed fingers
and toes, and muscular aches and pains.
We are prepared for the vast majority
of illnesses and injuries you would
expect in the field - cuts and abrasions,
muscle aches, most infections, and allergic
reactions. We're actually prepared for
a lot more than that, including snake
bites. If we had to we could treat a
fracture or concussion. The thing I
worry about most is internal injuries.
I feel prepared - but we have worked
out an evacuation plan with the American
Embassy should it be necessary. Regardless
of how well prepared we are we are five-six
hours from the nearest town. - Dr. Tim
Lyman
RE: "Do people ever get really sick
and have to go home?"
No - but we've come close. Once (on
a different expedition) someone got
a bad case of strep throat, but we were
able to treat it with antibiotics we
had brought. - Dr. Tim Lyman
- Have you ever lost an important piece
of equipment in shipping? Can you replace?
How long would that take?
Answer:
The only time we have ever lost a piece
of equipment in shipping was on this
expedition and it was lost by our airline!
We actually lost two bags and ten of
our fourteen bags came late. The two
bags that were lost contained critically
important equipment to run our website.
Luckily the support team was able to
replace some of the equipment in about
two weeks and a few weeks after that,
a visitor from the states brought the
rest of what we needed. In some cases
though, if we forget something, or break
something in the field, (like a special
jack for the trucks or a lens for a
camera) there is no convenient way to
replace it and we have to do with out
it. It's one of the reasons it is so
important to plan (and pack) ahead of
time. -Gabrielle
- Has a member of your group ever gotten
sick before the trip and couldn't go?
Can you replace that person? Do you
have substitutes, or do you have to
go one member short?
Answer:
Yes, as a matter of fact someone
got sick right before this expedition.
This year our French team member, Didier
Dutheil, ruptured his Achilles tendon
while playing tennis two weeks before
departure. There was no way to replace
a person on that short notice. And in
addition, I don't know of anyone with
all of Didier's talents: he is a native
French speaker, he is half Guinean,
he is an expert on fossil fish and microvertebrates,
and he has 15 years experience doing
paleontology and traveling in Africa.
So for half of this expedition we have
gone a member short, but he is healing
rapidly and due in shortly. -Paul
-
Can DNA be used
to determine the color of a dinosaur's
skin?
Answer:
No and there is no proven evidence
that we have even found any actual
dinosaur DNA. DNA does not preserve
very well, in contrast to bones.
- Paul Sereno
- Why do you think the crocodile survived
over the dinosaur?
Answer:
Chance. The more we learn about the
extinction that occurred at the end
of the dinosaur era, the more we understand
that dinosaurs were the unlucky ones
because they were among a wide range
of plants and animals that went extinct.
Crocodiles were alive during the dinosaur
era and look much the same as they do
today. The dinosaur extinction involved
an enormous asteroid impact that caused
a variety of problems for life on earth.
There is no way that any animal has
evolved protection against such a catastrophe.
Crocodiles were lucky to survive. -
Paul Sereno
- Was the large crocodile you just found
the largest predator living in the water
at that time? If not, what animal was?
Answer:
No. the largest animal living in the
water at the time was a pleiosaur, an
extinct group of marine reptiles that
grew to a length of at least 60 feet.
In the Gadafawa area and other water
on land (like rivers and lakes) the
crocodile, Sarcosuchus, was the largest
water-dwelling predator. It would have
eaten 40 Naperville schoolchildren just
during recess. - Paul Sereno
- Our second graders are writing persuasive
letters to Dr. Sereno trying to convince
him to include a child on a future expedition.
What are the chances of this happening?
Answer:
Being in Africa is a great experience
but is also a remarkably difficult transition
to make from life in a city or suburb
to life in the middle of a hot, dry
desert. More importantly these expeditions
are training experiences for students
who have already gained some background
in fossils, and who may become teachers
- or expedition leaders - themselves.
It is unlikely we would bring a child
on an expedition - Paul Sereno
- During your childhood did you ever
have dreams about going on expeditions
or adventures?
Answer:
Yes. When I was in 4th grade my big
dream was to work on a boat going down
the Mississippi river. I had read Tom
Sawyer and Huck Finn and I starred in
the role of Tom Sawyer in Miss Williams'
fifth grade class. By the way, I have
stayed in contact with Miss Williams,
who now lives in Florida. I dreamed
of traveling the entire length of the
Mississippi River - it was my dream
of a great adventure. - Paul Sereno
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