The theme for this Beaty Box is Ancient Life, with a focus on the stories of life and how it changes over millions of years. Under this theme, students can learn more about:
- Evolution and taxonomy
- How researchers understand the ancient world
- How ancient events inform biodiversity in the present
By the end of the lesson, your group should feel more comfortable with the ancient world and how life changes over time, through a variety of ancient and present-day specimens.
Request an Ancient Life Box for your classroom here.
How to pack your Ancient Life Beaty Box:
Please note that while Ancient Life Box 011, 012, 013 contain the same content, there are some small differences in specimens and are packed differently.
Click here for a video on how to handle Beaty Box specimens.
Ancient Life Box Dimensions:
- Length: 61 cm (24”)
- Width: 50 cm (19.5”)
- Height: 33 cm (13”)
- Weight: 19kg (42 lbs)
⚠️Caution: This is our heaviest box! If you have access to a small cart, this will be helpful for moving the box to and from your vehicle. You can borrow the museum’s cart to transfer to and from the parking lot at UBC, but we cannot loan it out with the box during your rental. You may want to lift this box with two people.
With the information and activities included in this manual, there is the opportunity to hit many curriculum goals. In this section, we have included six lesson plans for activities that cover themes ranging from evolution to climate change and cover practical skills such as drawing and mathematics. Please feel free to modify these activities to best suit your needs.
Preview the Fossilization Game, one of the included activities, in this video:
Some of the “big ideas” and core concepts this Beaty Box touches on are:
| Kindergarten
|
Science
|
Big Idea | Plants and animals have observable features. |
| Curricular Competency | Make exploratory observations using their senses. | ||
| Curricular Competency | Safely handle materials. | ||
| Arts | Big Idea | Engagement in the arts creates opportunities for inquiry through purposeful play. | |
| Grade 1
|
Science
|
Big Idea | Living things have features and behaviours that help them survive in their environment. |
| Curricular Competency | Communicate observations and ideas using language, drawing, or role-play. | ||
| Art | Big Idea | Engagement in the arts creates opportunities for inquiry through purposeful play. | |
| Grade 2
|
Science
|
Big Idea | Living things have life cycles adapted to their environment. |
| Curricular Competency | Identify simple patterns and connections. | ||
| Curricular Competency | Communicate observations and ideas using language, drawing, or role-play. | ||
| Grade 3
|
Science
|
Big Idea | Living things are diverse, can be grouped, and interact in their ecosystems. |
| Big Idea | Wind, water, and ice change the shape of the land. | ||
| Curricular Competency | Collect simple data. | ||
| Curricular Competency | Make simple inferences based on their results and prior knowledge. | ||
| Curricular Competency | Make predictions based on prior knowledge. | ||
| Art | Curricular Competency | Connect knowledge and skills from other areas of learning in planning, creating, and interpreting works for art. | |
| Grade 4
|
Science
|
Curricular Competency | Make predictions based on prior knowledge. |
| Curricular Competency | Demonstrate curiosity about the natural world. | ||
| Curricular Competency | Sort and classify data and information using drawings or provided tables. | ||
| Arts | Curricular Competency | Create artistic works collaboratively and as an individual using ideas inspired by imagination, inquiry, experimentation, and purposeful play | |
| Grade 5
|
Science
|
Big Idea | Earth materials change as they move through the rock cycle and can be used as natural resources. |
| Curricular Competency | Make observations in familiar or unfamiliar contexts. | ||
| Curricular Competency | With support, plan appropriate investigations to answer their questions or solve problems they have identified. | ||
| Arts
|
Big Idea | Artists experiment in a variety of ways to discover new possibilities and perspectives. | |
| Curricular Competency | Create artistic works collaboratively and as an individual using ideas inspired by imagination, inquiry, experimentation, and purposeful play | ||
| Grade 6
|
Science
|
Curricular Competency | With support, plan appropriate investigations to answer their questions or solve problems they have identified. |
| Curricular Competency | Demonstrate an openness to new ideas and consideration of alternatives. | ||
| Arts | Curricular Competency | Interpret creative works using knowledge and skills from various areas of learning. | |
| Grade 7
|
Science
|
Big Idea | Evolution by natural selection provides an explanation for the diversity and survival of living things. |
| Big Idea | Earth and its climate have changed over geological time. | ||
| Curricular Competency | Communicate ideas, findings, and solutions to problems, using scientific language, representations, and digital technologies as appropriate. | ||
| Arts | Big Idea | Engaging in the arts develops people’s ability to understand and express complex ideas. | |
| Grade 8
|
Science
|
Big Idea | The theory of plate tectonics is the unifying theory that explains Earth’s geological processes. |
| Curricular Competency | Make observations aimed at identifying their own questions about the natural world. | ||
| Curricular Competency | Use scientific understandings to identify relationships and draw conclusions | ||
| Arts | Curricular Competency | Create artistic works collaboratively and as an individual using ideas inspired by imagination, inquiry, experimentation, and purposeful play. | |
| Grade 9
|
Science
|
Big Idea | The biosphere, geosphere, hydrosphere, and atmosphere are interconnected, as matter cycles and energy flows through them. |
| Curricular Competency | Make observations aimed at identifying their own questions, including increasingly complex ones, about the natural world. | ||
| Curricular Competency
|
Consider the role of scientists in innovation. | ||
| Curricular Competency | Contribute to finding solutions to problems at a local and/or global level through inquiry. | ||
| Curricular Competency | Consider the changes in knowledge over time as tools and technologies have developed. | ||
| Arts | Curricular Competency | Create artistic works collaboratively and as an individual using ideas inspired by imagination, inquiry, experimentation, and purposeful play. | |
| Curricular Competency | Describe, interpret, and evaluate how artists use tools, processes, technologies, materials, and environments to create and communicate ideas. | ||
| Upper Year sciences | Science | Specific activities are designed for upper year courses, please look in the activity section for those materials. |
- Each box comes with a comprehensive Educator Manual to provide you with all the information you need to confidently share and explore the Ancient Life Beaty Box with your group.
- Manual includes:
- Beaty Box Basics
- Information on the specimens in the box - where they come from, how they are prepared, and information on how to handle them safely
- Information about the Beaty Biodiversity Museum
- Click here to download Beaty Box Basics
- Customized Lesson Plan and Specimen Information
- A lesson plan and list of relevant "Big Ideas" and "Core Concepts" outlined in the BC Curriculum
- Flashcards for each specimen with images and background information
- Suggestions and links to additional activities
- A resource page with a digital copy of the manual plus extra images and activities you can print off or download
- Click here to download the Ancient Life Box Lesson Plan and Specimen Information (pdf)
- Beaty Box Basics
This page has downloadable materials that will support your use of the Beaty Box. If you’ve used Beaty Boxes in the past, you can think of this resource page like the included USB stick on other box manuals.
Materials include worksheets, answer keys, research papers, images, and more! We suggest using WiFi or another connection that is best for large PDF files.