Blog 16: Independent Component 2 Approval

This dinosaur here is Allosaurus and it will be the dinosaur that i want to reconstruct for my second independent component.

1.  Describe in detail what you plan to do for your 30 hours.

- For my second independent component, I would like to make a museum-style exhibit of a dinosaur called Allosaurus maximus (that's the scientific name, but in normal speak just call it Allosaurus). I want to make an updated and scientifically accurate reconstruction of Allosaurus's appearance and to provide a representation of one aspect of an Allosaur's life. Right now my idea, is that using the exhibit I will represent an Allosaur's parental behavior. I will also be adorning the exhibit with foliage that would be natural to an Allosaur's habitat.

2.  Discuss how or what you will do to meet the expectation of showing 30 hours of evidence.

- I will take photographs of my construction process, provide research justifying my reconstruction, and turn in a one page placard detailing reasoning for why I reconstructed Allosaurus the way I did.

3.  Explain how this component will help you explore your topic in more depth.

- Originally, my mentor suggested this project to me as a possible mentorship activity during my first interview with him and later on I visited the Raymond M Alf Museum, which had an exhibit of Allosaurus and a computer simulator showing a reconstruction of it. I didn't agree with how lizard-like the museum made Allosaurus out to be and so this independent component will also be a sort of scientific peer check of another paleontologist's rendition of this animal. My project EQ is: How can a paleontologist best reconstruct the life of a prehistoric creature. This idea allows me to reconstruct a few aspects of a prehistoric creature's life: its appearance, environmental setting, and parental behavior. I will have to explore a few techniques used by paleontologists in order to accomplish this reconstruction and so in that sense I will be able to further explore my topic. I've seen many TV documentaries on paleontology where paleontologists use various methods to uncover the lives of different prehistoric creatures, so I can look at those methods along with others from my research to help me revise the answers that I've already come up with and to possibly replace either of them if its better.