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Fox Science Preserve

Teaching Sites

  • There are 7 suggested teaching stops for students to visit. Naturalists that have known other areas may visit other sites as well.
  • Naturalists do not need to go in order of these stops.
  • Naturalists can decide where students should stop to collect samples along their chosen travel path.

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#1- Entry and Site History

  • Fox Science Preserve is part of a glacial moraine made up of glacial till that was deposited ~12,000 years ago.
  • This area was graveled in the 1970s to supply material for concrete.
  • Because the area was graveled and plant life was removed, the leftover pit represented terrain much like the exposed land after the glacier retreated.
  • Today the land is protected as a nature preserve and plant communities are succeeding.

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#2- Rock Types

  • Use the information on the sign to reinforce that:
    • Rocks are made of minerals, which are made up of chemical elements.
    • Rocks can be categorized into sedimentary, igneous, and metamorphic categories. Each type has its own formation story.
  • Practice identifying basic rock types using the boulders on the hill.

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#3- Gowganda Tillite

  • This boulder is 2.4 billion years old (Challenge students to read the number on the sign!).

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  • The till (unsorted rock pieces) that is lithified into one stone was deposited during an ancient glaciation. The boulder was transported from Canada during the last glaciation, approximately 12,000 years ago.

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#3- Gowganda Tillite

  • Have students look for evidence of rocks that were imbedded in the glacier, scratching the boulder as it was transported.

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  • As described in the sign, there is a limestone boulder with fossils just beyond the tillite boulder. If you feel strained for time, you can visit this site to study fossils instead of the limestone boulder near the pond (#7).

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#4- Dropstone

  • Students should observe the layers of rock that formed over time in this sedimentary sample. Challenge them to describe the orientation in the ancient sea bed (Hint: it is now lying flat).
  • Look at the varves (layers) of sediment that were bent when heavy rocks fell from ice rafts floating in the ancient body of water.
  • See if students can reason through possible stories of how the rock was formed before you share what scientists currently think.

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#5- Plant Succession

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#5- Plant Succession

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  • After the gravel company left, some creatures moved in that were adapted to colonizing the harsh gravel environment. These were algaes, mosses, lichens, and fungi. They represent a “pioneer community” called cryptogamic crust.
  • Over the years, they have enriched the soil, paving the way for forbs and grasses.
  • Now, shrubs and trees are starting to populate the area.

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#6- Erosion and Deposition

  • Without plant roots holding the till on the steep hillside, you can see erosion and deposition scarring the land.

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  • Students can observe the glacial till that has been exposed due to rain water and gravity. At the bottom of the hill, challenge students to notice and describe what deposition looks like in this area and how water and gravity have impacted how the till is sorted.

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#7- Limestone boulder and suspended pond

  • The large piece of limestone represents part of the ancient seabed, made of whole and crushed parts of shelled creatures.
  • Challenge students to find how many distinct creatures they can find fossilized in the rock.
  • The pond exemplifies a body of water that is suspended on a layer of clay. When the gravel company reached this layer, they decided to stop operations and move to a new site. The impermeable clay layer now holds water and has created an aquatic habitat.