Time again for another Forum Friday!

To recap, since last time, we have given a positive review of Nic Bishop and his book, Digging for Bird-Dinosaurs: An Expedition to Madagascar, and looked at several ways you can present geological time.

Over on our Facebook page, we looked at the books Dinosaur Art; All Yesterdays; Scaly, Spotted, Feathered, Frilled; and The Smile of a Dolphin. We learned about a science cafe on reconstructing dinosaurs, Thor helping to get girls excited about science, how to study, and how to interpret evidence to avoid Bigfoot and pseudoscientific thinking.

We found a fascinating, interactive tree of life, and a new STEM education database. Sadly, the database is closed due to government shutdown, and Charlie’s Playhouse, maker of the great Giant Timeline Mat, also closed, but they have opened an educational site to introduce kids to evolution.

We learned dinosaurs did not have bunny hands, clues to the origin of multicellular life, photosynthesis, flowering plants, and how the evolution of mammals correlated with the rise of flowers. We are learning to use our knowledge of evolution to outwit viruses and the predictive power of evolutionary theory.

Finally, don’t forget that Earth Science Week (October 13-19) and National Fossil Day (October 17) are coming up.

What stories did you find interesting? Join the conversation, tell us what you think and what you’ve found.