Scavenger Hunts

Up for a challenge? Check out our scavenger hunts for young learners and explore the museum as you’ve never seen it before! You can find printed copies along with pencils in the Dino Pit, or print your own off at home using the links below. It takes about 30 minutes to complete.

All scavenger hunts can be completed in the museum main atrium (floors one and two), which is open from 8:30 am to 4:30 pm everyday.

French translation by Johanne Fortier!

Ages 6 and up

Name: _______________________ Date:_______________________

  1. Name the missing Great Lake from this list: Lake Huron, Lake Michigan, Lake Erie, Lake Superior, Lake  _  _  _  _  _  _  _ .
  2. Trilobites were ancient sea creatures that were related to today’s horseshoe crabs.  Trilobites were from the time period known as the C  _  M B _  _  _  _ .
  3. Calcite is a mineral that can form large pointed crystals that look like sharp teeth!  The large calcite crystal on the first floor is called a  D  _  _  -  T  _ O T H    S  _  A R.
  4. A giant piece of rock is known as a “monolith.”  The monolith inside the museum is a nice piece of metamorphic rock called  _  N  _  I  S  _ .
  5. Quartz is a common mineral that comes in many colours!  Pink quartz is called rose quartz, and purple quartz is called  _  M  _  _  H Y  _  T .
  6. This Ice-Age mammal (as seen on the second-floor iPad exhibit) with its large tusks was not a mammoth – it was a M  _  S  _  _  D  _  N .
  7. Minerals which glow under ultraviolet light (also known as “UV light” or “black light”) are called  _  L _  _  R E S C  _  N  T  minerals.
  8. One of the wooden tree sections on the second floor is from
    V  _  C T O  _  _  A    P _  _  K.
  9. Parasaurolophus was a dinosaur with a crest on its head.  The Parasaurolophus skeleton on the second-floor is missing its T  _  I  _  and its  B A C K    L  _  _ .
  10. Ancient trees that have fossilized into rock are often found in Arizona.  This kind of plant fossil is known as  P  _  T R  _  _  I E D _  _  O  D.

Ages 6 and up - French

Nom: __________________________ Date: _______________
 

  1. Nomme le Grand Lac qui manque dans la liste suivante: Lac Huron, Lac Michigan, Lac Érié, Lac Supérieur, Lac _ _ _ _ _ _ _
  2. Les trilobites étaient d'anciennes créatures marines apparentées aux limules d'aujourd'hui. Les trilobites dans le présentoir datent de la période connue sous le nom de C _ MB_ _ _ _ 
  3. La calcite est un minéral qui peut former de grands cristaux pointus qui ressemblent à des dents pointues ! Le grand cristal de calcite du premier étage s'appelle un  D _ _  T_ _TH  S_ A R
  4. Un morceau de roche géant est appelé "monolithe". Le monolithe qui se trouve dans le musée est un beau morceau de roche métamorphique appelée  _N_ I S S
  5. Le quartz est un minéral commun qui existe en plusieurs couleurs ! Le quartz rose est appelé quartz rose, et le quartz violet est appelé        _  M  _  _  H Y  _  T .
  6. Les minéraux qui brillent sous la lumière ultraviolette (également appelée "lumière UV" ou "lumière noire") sont appelés minéraux.               _ L _ _ R E S C _ N T S 
  7. La fluorite est utilisée dans le dentifrice. Quelles couleurs de cristaux vois-tu? Violet- Vert- Jaune- brun- orange- rouge- blanc- bleu. Souligne les couleurs que tu peux voir. 
  8. Ce mammifère de l'ère glaciaire (comme on peut le voir dans l'exposition iPad du deuxième étage) avec ses grandes défenses n'était pas un mammouth, mais un M _ S _ _ D _ NT_
  9. Le Parasaurolophus était un dinosaure avec une crête sur la tête. Le squelette du Parasaurolophus du deuxième étage est dépourvu de sa 1) Q _ _ _ _ et de sa 2) J _ _ _ _ 
  10. Une des sections d’arbre du 2e étage provient de V_C T O _ _ A P _ _ K

Ages 12 and up

Name: _________________________ Date: _______________

  1. A hole in volcanic rock can be filled with quartz to produce a banded formation, often cut in half or as slices and known as an _ G _ _ E.
  2. This black-cast dinosaur on the wall has a name that means “terrible claw”. To keep them sharp, D _ I N _ N _ C H _ _ could retract its claws!
  3. The Discovery Mine Tunnel is a replica of a real mine tunnel in Cobalt, Ontario. In the early 1900s, Cobalt was one of the largest producers of _ _ _ _ E _.
  4. When lightning strikes sand, a glass formation called a F _ _ G _ _ I _ _ forms.
  5. My shell is a spiral with separate compartments inside. I float through the ocean and can propel myself like a modern-day squid. I am an _ _ M _ _ I _ _ .
  6. Galena is a silvery-grey mineral that is made of lead sulphide. Its natural crystal structure is that of a _ _ B _ .
  7. Primitive creatures known as _ T _ _ M _ T _ L _ T _ S came from the Pre-Cambrian, and gave us evidence of the first life on Earth.
  8. Hope, Jubilee, Great Mogul, and Star of the South are all famous historical examples of this carbon mineral, known as _ _ A _ _ N _ .
  9. The Mistaken Point Fossils come from _ _ W _ _ _ _ D _ _ _ _ .
  10. A cannibalistic dinosaur, _ _ E L _ _ _ Y _ _ S can be found with the consumed bones of its offspring in its stomach cavity.

Ages 16 and up - Vertebrate Evolution Challenge

Name: _________________________ Date: _______________

1. The earliest reptile fossil found to date is Hylonomis lyelii from 312 million years ago (MYA). The earliest reptile in the Museum is 250 to 299 MYA. It’s name is C_ _ _ _ _ _ _ N _ _ .

2. Mammals are the only living synapsids. The synapsid skull only has one temporal fenestra (opening). This mammal, which is often mistaken as a dinosaur, is the oldest synapsid represented in the museum: _ _ M _ _ _ _ D _ _ .

3. Birds are descended from Dinosaurs, and in particular, therapsid dinosaurs which had lizard-like hips. The largest example of a saurischian hip at the Museum belongs to _ _ _ E _ _ _ S _ U _ _ _ . A smaller cousin of Tyrannosaurus Rex.

4. The other major group of dinosaurs is the ornithischian. The only example of the ornithischian hip at the Museum can be found on _ _ _ A _ _ _ _ O _ _ _ _ U _ , which is missing its back leg and tail.

5. The fishes that led to the earliest amphibians were known as: R _ _ _ I _ I _ _ I _ _ .

6. Early fishes included sharks. There is only one shark fossil in the Earth Sciences Museum and it is a single tooth belonging to: M _ _ _ _ _ _ O _ .

7. The oldest batoidea (Ray) in the museum was found in Western North America. It dates to 50 million years ago which is the _ _ C _ _ _ era.

8. While birds are descended from therapsid dinosaurs, they are nit direct descendants of Tyrannosaurus Rex. Several early birds have been discovered. A _ _ _ _ _ O _ T _ _ _ _ is an early ‘€˜protobird’.

9. Early jawed fishes included placoderms. Bothriolepis includes about 60 species found worldwide. These fish were also distinguished by their dermal _ R _ _ _ R .

Printable versions