Students skyping at Hobgood

Dinosaurs are aligning reading with science, art, math and engineering in Hobgood Elementary’s second grade classrooms.  While studying the life of English fossil collector Mary Anning and reading the children’s book about her life, “Stone Girl, Bone Girl”, students were introduced to the study of paleontology.

World-renowned paleoartist Julius Csotonyi joined the Hobgood classrooms through an activity-based Skype session.  Csotonyi is a Canadian paleoartist and natural history illustrator.  His work is featured in museums across the world and preserved on US Postage Forever T.rex Stamps.

“We are extremely excited to have this famous paleoartist working with our students as he demonstrates how he takes a sketched image of a dinosaur skeleton and turns it into a more animated lifelike representation,” says Alisha Herbison, Hobgood’s Instructional Coach.

During the Skype presentation, students began with a skeleton sketch, then engaged in a simple flesh reconstruction to learn how paleoartists add soft tissues to bones to bring prehistoric animals to life. Students learned how specific features like flippers or wings tell you about the dinosaur’s habitat.

For their culminating project, students will become “experts” on a chosen animal, learn about their adaptations, and generate scientific drawings of them. They will then complete the project by creating that animal utilizing 3-D printing and other mediums.