When minerals seep  into fossils,  nature is transformed  into art. Giraud Foster and Norman Barker

     Petrified wood is a tangible object that allows us to better understand geology, mineralogy, paleobotany, chemistry, biology, and other scientific areas. Integrating mathematical computations replicating the petrification process, by use of  the Stella model, the students are able to visually generate the petrification process. NetLogo invites the students to manipulate data and simulate the process of percolation of water into the soil absorbing and distributing minerals at an accelerated rate.

     The students will be challenged by applying critical thinking skills, conjecture, speculation, and inference by a variety of individual and cooperative learning activities, which provide endless elaborations and extensions that delve into the past.

Lynda        Steve     Mikki         Don
NCSLP Team 2 (New Mexico)