Team: 33
School: Melrose High
Area of Science: Ecology
Interim: Project:
Our project is about building an ecosystem model that simulates how our area appeared around millions of years ago. You might be asking how we are going to do this. Well, we are planning on using the computer program “NetLogoâ€. In this program we will simulate the life and interactions of the dinosaurs that used to live in our part of New Mexico.
Plan and Progress:
First, we have collected lots of the data needed, and we have started going to museums in our area to get more information about what finds have been made locally. These are the dinosaurs we want to concentrate on. Some museums have offered to help us with this project which is amazing.
We want our model to be based on predator and prey simulations such as those in the NetLogo Library. We will modify them to match up with the traits of the dinosaurs we will include, and with their ancient habitats.
Progress:
So far we have done our research, and started looking at how to build our model. We are planning more trips to meet with the Paleontologists at our local museums to get more of their help in making our model life-like and realistic. After that, we will modify and improve our computer simulation.
Results:
We hope to build a model that will be useful to people learning about dinosaurs, and especially the dinosaurs of our area. Also we hope that our work and simulation might be able to help scientists find more fossils by figuring out where the animals might have been.
Resources:
Interviews: Tucumcari Dinosaur Museum Staff.
Sept 2022.
Interviews: Tucumcari Historical Museum Staff.
Sept 2022.
NetLogo Library. NetLogo Version 6.0.3
Fossils. 'Stories From Bones and Stones'.
Patricia Barnes-Svarney. 1991
Internet Research. "Dinosaurs of New Mexico''
Google search.
Team Members:
Kenyon Kendall
Hunter Smith
Samuel Williams
Bree Maldonado
Sponsoring Teacher: Alan Daugherty