N-O Fourth Graders Learn About Paleontology From N-O Grad

A Neligh-Oakdale fourth grader now knows what she wants to be when she grows up after a special guest spoke to her class.

Both Darcy Metschke’s and Rick Eikholt’s fourth grade classes were able to hear from N-O graduate Sam Wright about her experience as an intern at Ashfall Fossil Beds State Historical Park this summer.

“We just finished chapter 3 in Nebraska History,” fourth grade teacher Darcy Metschke said. “We’re learning about ancient animals, and it does talk about Ashfall Fossil Beds in our book…I remembered that Sam had been an intern there.”

Metschke mentioned it to Wright’s mom, Tammy Marshall, who thought it would work out for Sam to come talk to the class. Sam was able to go to Ashfall and pick up several artifacts to show the students, including a cow bone, petrified wood, part of a rhino leg bone, a rhino skull, a head of a three-toed horse and a sample of ash from the site.

“It’s fun to bring Ashfall to us, rather than going to Ashfall,” Metschke said. “I know some of them have been to Ashfall before, but it’s still fun to hear it from a Neligh-Oakdale graduate.”

During her talk, Wright explained the process of how bones become fossils and how to tell the difference between bones and fossils. She also spoke about some of her discoveries at Ashfall and demonstrated to the class how the ash can actually clean a dirty penny.

“I thought she did a really nice job answering questions. They (the students) had a lot of questions, and they were very excited about it,” Metschke said.

“When the volcano erupted and the ash came out of it, were any animals able to survive?”, “What was the first fossil you found?”, “Are there any dinosaurs there?”, “Have you ever broken one of the bones when you were digging?” were just some of the questions Wright patiently answered.

Sam inspired at least one student, Maddy Kurpgeweit, to look into a career in paleontology when she grows up.

“She came right up to me after Sam was done talking and said, ‘Now I know what I want to do.’ It was fun to see that Sam inspired a fourth grader already to maybe look into that in her future.”