Ice Age: Clone the Colossus has been designed for Years 5-6 high-ability students.  

Paleontologist Dr. Amber-Rose Faith (University of Queensland) has worked in conjunction with members of the Ecolinc team to develop an exciting hands-on workshop. 

The first session will commence with a live virtual excursion to South Dakota’s woolly mammoth archeological dig site.  After the virtual excursion, students will have the opportunity for a Q&A session with the guide from the dig site.  Some big questions for paleontologists include why are the specimens all from male mammoths, how did they come to be in the sink hole and what is the significance of other ancient animals found there.

After a short break, students will commence a workshop led by Dr. Faith, comparing models of mammoth teeth with other related species, participating in a virtual dig and fossil bone ID activity, playing an ethical dilemma card game, and designing a mammoth zoo habitat.

IMPORTANT PREPARATION DETAILS:

• For this workshop, teachers will be posted the necessary STEM-in-a-box materials
• There are limited numbers of tickets available.  Only ONE ticket of up to 25 high ability students per school for each event. 
• NOTE: Rural and regional students will be a priority in the event of large booking demand.
• Program flyer VCES Ice Age

How to book your group

1. Book your students into either of the morning sessions NOT both.
2. Tickets can be booked using the link above (NOTE: one ticket is for a group of up to 25 students)
3. Download and complete the attached Student details spreadsheet and email this through to ecolinc@education.vic.gov.au

After your booking is confirmed

Please download the parental invitation and student nomination forms and distribute them to the families of the students.

1. VCES Student Nomination Form
2. VCES Parent Info

The Victorian Challenge and Enrichment Series (VCES) is an initiative funded by the Victorian Government to extend and engage high-ability students across the state. The series provides opportunities for students from Foundation to Year 12 in Government Schools to participate in enrichment learning experiences that challenge their thinking, build advanced skills, and encourage creativity, problem-solving and collaboration. Delivered by specialist organisations and education providers, VCES programs immerse students in authentic, real-world learning beyond the classroom.

• Year Level: Year 5-6
• Duration: 2.15 hours

Yes, a kit of resources will be sent to your school

No prior knowledge is required.

In this video conference students will:

• Learn how palaeontologists use evidence from fossils to understand what an animal ate, age, sex, species, where it lived, and how it behave.
• Compare extinct animals, such as mammoths, with modern species like elephants to identify similarities and differences.
• Ask scientific questions and use evidence to find answers.
• Think critically about the ethical issues surrounding cloning and de-extinction.
• Listen to different points of view, weigh up evidence, and form opinions about complex issues.
• Use reasoning and evidence when explaining ethical positions.
• Work effectively in a group to solve problems and share ideas.
• Apply scientific knowledge to a creative design challenge that meets the biological, environmental, and ethical needs of its inhabitants.
• Synthesize information from different sources (videos, experts, fossils, and models) to form new ideas.
• Learn to think like a palaeontologist — using evidence to reconstruct the past and make predictions about the future.

In this video conference students will:

• Engage and interact with experts in the field
• Handle and compare models of mammoth, mastodon and Asian elephant teeth
• Participate in a virtual dig where they identify mammoth fossil bones
• Play an ethical dilemma card game
• Design a mammoth zoo habitat

Science -Science as a Human Endeavour

• Scientific knowledge changes over time, often resulting from collaboration or by building on the work of others, and leads to advances in science (VC2S6H01).

Science – Science Understanding

• Organisms have evolved over time, as seen in fossils and scientific records; the structural features and behaviours of living organisms enable them to thrive in their environments (VC2S6U02)
• Habitats can be described by their physical conditions; changing the physical conditions of a habitat, including by human activity, may affect the growth and survival of organisms (VC2S6U01)

Science – Science Inquiry

• Investigable questions and reasoned predictions can be used in guiding investigations to identify patterns and test relationships  (VC2S6I01)

Ethical Capability 

• How ethical perspectives and ethical concepts are used to identify and describe ethical issues, including their ethical significance, and how they are also used to explain responses to them, including their ethical significance (VC2CE6D01)
• The meaning of an ethical framework, and how the consequences framework, duties framework and virtues framework can each guide decision-making in response to an ethical issue (VC2CE6D02)

Design Technologies: Planning and managing

• Develop project plans that include consideration of resources to individually and collaboratively make designed solutions  (VC2TDE6D05)