CLU students create DVD on mammoth

(THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. – May 2, 2008) Five California Lutheran University students are creating an interactive DVD and Web site to educate students and the public about the 2005 discovery of the Moorpark Mammoth.

The Moorpark Mammoth, the second most complete southern mammoth skeleton in North America, was discovered during construction of a housing development.

John Atkinson of Newbury Park, Josh Banday of Los Angeles, Bret Bays and Chris Meierding of Ventura and Joey Lang of Simi Valley are creating the multimedia educational tools for the city of Moorpark under the guidance of Tim Hengst, director of CLU’s Multimedia Department. The students are working with a science education company called Amuseum in Orange County.

The students will present an overview of the project to the Moorpark City Council on Wednesday, May 7. The city of Moorpark donated the mammoth to the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History. The DVD and Web site are part of the city’s plans to help in the promotion of the mammoth.

The project will feature games, activities and information presented with three-dimensional animation and video clips. Working with CLU education professor Michael McCambridge to tie the program to state standards, the students are designing the DVD for use in middle school classrooms. It will incorporate math, biology, geology, geography, art and debate skills.

The activities can be done on the computer, or adapted for hands-on use. Examples include the “Mammoth Extinction Game,” a lab simulation called “Microfossil Detectives” and “Grandma M, What Big Feet You Have,” which challenges students to determine the size of a mammoth based on the circumference of its foot.

The project will also include a gallery of photos taken during the excavation and preservation processes and a fictional account of the Moorpark Mammoth’s life written by Amuseum President Curt Abdouch.