LOVE WILL GUIDE US
A Tapestry of Faith Program for Children
SESSION 3: WE LOVE TO DISCOVER
BY REV. ALICE ANACHEKA-NASEMANN AND CATHY CARTWRIGHT
© Copyright 2010 Unitarian Universalist Association.
Published to the Web on 11/8/2014 2:13:11 AM PST.
This program and additional resources are available on the UUA.org web site at
www.uua.org/religiouseducation/curricula/tapestryfaith.
SESSION OVERVIEW
INTRODUCTION
Science and religion are two windows that people look through, trying to understand the big universe outside, trying to understand why we are here. The two windows give different views, but both look out at the same universe. Both views are one-sided, neither is complete. Both leave out essential features of the real world. And both are worthy of respect. — Freeman Dyson, physics professor emeritus at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey, in a speech accepting the 2000 Templeton Prize for Progress in Religion
In this session participants explore our fifth Source, which "counsels us to heed the guidance of reason and the results of science." In children's language, reason means we listen to what others say, pay attention to what we ourselves see, hear, and feel, and try to figure out what is true. The story "Dinosaur Bones in New Jersey" shows how the use of reason and science led to the knowledge that the earth is older than the Bible implies, and human life much newer. Participants explore reason and science as means to answer one of the ultimate religious questions, "How did we get here?" In Activity 1, Facts, Theories, and Beliefs, participants practice discerning the difference between what can be proved true in the world and what is believed to be true. In Activity 3, Taxonomy, participants classify objects based on their commonalities. Alternate Activity 4, Who Gets Eaten? introduces the theory of natural selection in an active way. All the activities engage discovery through reasoning.
GOALS
This session will:
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
Participants will:
SESSION-AT-A-GLANCE
Activity | Minutes |
Welcoming and Entering | 0 |
Opening | 7 |
Activity 1: Facts, Theories, and Beliefs | 15 |
Activity 2: Story — Dinosaur Bones in New Jersey | 13 |
Activity 3: Taxonomy | 20 |
Faith In Action: Tree of Life Bulletin Board | 30 |
Closing | 10 |
Alternate Activity 1: Sharing Joys and Concerns | 7 |
Alternate Activity 2: UU Source Constellation — Reason and Science | 10 |
Alternate Activity 3: Making Fossil Imprints | 30 |
Alternate Activity 4: Who Gets Eaten? | 15 |
SPIRITUAL PREPARATION
As you center yourself, think about how you use science and reason in your own life. How has reason helped you come to conclusions about your faith. How has science helped you shape your spiritual life? Read this passage and ponder its meaning for you.
I Say It Touches Us
I say that it touches us that our blood is
sea water and our tears are salt, that the
seed of our bodies is scarcely different
from the same cells in a seaweed,
and that the stuff of our bones is like the coral.
I say that the tide rolls in on us, whether
we like it or no, and the sands of time
keep running their intended course.
I say we have to go down into the wave's trough
to find ourselves, and then ride her swell
until we can see beyond ourselves into
our neighbors eye.
I say that we shall never leave the harbor
if we do not hoist the sail.
I say that we have got to walk the waves
as well as solid ground.
I say that anyone who goes without
consciousness of this will remain
chained to a rusty anchor.
May the journey find us worthy. Amen. — By Marni P. Harmony, in Day of Promise: Collected Meditations, Kathleen Montgomery, editor (Skinner House, 2000, 2001; copyright Unitarian Universalist Association)
SESSION PLAN
WELCOMING AND ENTERING
Materials for Activity
Preparation for Activity
Description of Activity
This activity is appropriate when participants do not arrive in a group but arrive individually before the session begins.
Welcome children as they arrive. Invite them to sit down and fill the branches of a Tree of Life coloring sheet with all the life they know of that shares Earth with us. A second co-leader should greet new parents and explain the plans for the day.
Give children time to share what they have drawn, before you begin the session.
Including All Participants
This is an excellent time for co-leaders to notice the abilities and temperament of each child. Note how they respond to you. Are they shy and reticent? Are they anxious and jumpy? Invite a parent to share any concerns and pertinent information, including information about children's allergies. Do you have a sign-in sheet? As the children settle in, co-leaders should review the names of the children attending and share any issues that may need special attention during the session.
OPENING (7 MINUTES)
Materials for Activity
Preparation for Activity
Description of Activity
Gather the children in a circle. Distribute Handout 1, Ten Million Stars, or point out the words printed on newsprint. Light the chalice and invite the group to read the words together responsively.
Referring to the Night Sky display, say in your own words:
When people first began to ponder the night sky, they wondered, "What are stars and why are they there? Why do they move?" "Where did I come from? How did life begin? Why am I here?" Although the sky did not give the answers, people used the stars as symbols for their beliefs about the important questions in their lives.
When people looked at their night sky, they saw patterns and pictures in the way the stars were arranged. Thousands of years ago, the Greeks and Romans, Chinese and Arabs, Native Americans, and other people all around the world named these constellations for gods they worshipped, animals they relied on, and everyday scenes from their lives.
Indicate the Big Dipper. Invite the children to discover the pattern of a dipping spoon. Say:
We call this constellation the Big Dipper. If we lived in Southern France, we would call it a Saucepan. Do you see the saucepan?
Ask the children what other pictures they see. Encourage them to imagine the constellation upside down. Tell them:
To the Skidi Pawnee Indians, this constellation looked like a sick man being carried on a stretcher.
To the ancient Maya, it was a mythological parrot named Seven Macaw.
To the Hindu, it looked like Seven Wise Men.
To the early Egyptians, it was the thigh and leg of a bull.
To the ancient Chinese, it was the chariot of the Emperor of Heaven.
The Micmac Indians saw a bear instead of the scoop, and hunters tracking the bear instead of the handle.
Now say:
People discovered how to use the stars to guide them when travelling. Knowing the constellations in the night sky helped them find the direction they wanted to go.
In the 19th century, people who were kept as slaves in the Southern states gave the Big Dipper a new name: the Drinking Gourd. This constellation became a symbol of freedom. Slaves who escaped knew they could travel at night, following the Drinking Gourd, to get to the Northern states where they would be free.
Say, while pointing to the North Star:
This one star does not move much in the Night Sky. The earth rotates and orbits around the sun, but this star, the North Star, is located directly above the North Pole, so it seems to always stay in the same place in the sky. Travelers without a map, a compass, or a GPS can use the North Star to know where they are and where they are going.
For Unitarian Universalists, love is like the North Star.
Now indicate the poster you have made of the seven Sources. Say, in your own words:
We let love and our Sources guide us, like stars in the night sky guide travelers. We use the wisdom of many Sources to help us answer the big questions about what we believe, just like ancient peoples used the stars.
Explain, or remind participants, that a "source" has to do with origin, or beginning. When we talk about the sources of our beliefs, this means we are talking about where our beliefs begin and how we get ideas. Say, in your own words:
Today we are talking about how Unitarian Universalists use science and reason to decide what we believe about who we are and where we came from.
Has anyone here talked about evolution at school? Evolution is an idea that hundreds of thousands of years ago, human beings' ancestors were earlier animals that lived on earth before us. Who knows about Charles Darwin? Did you know he was a Universalist? He is the person who first described what he called "natural selection." The facts he discovered about nature helped him think of his theory of evolution.
Today we will hear a story about dinosaur bones. It is also a story about how reason and science help us know who we are and where we come from. When fossils of dinosaurs were found, people did not know what they were at first. Some thought they must be from animals mentioned in the Bible. People who believed in the Bible believed God created the earth, then all the animals, and then God created human life. But, the Bible does not mention any dinosaurs. Scientists began to realize the earth was a lot older than the Bible said it was, and the Bible might not have all the facts about where human beings came from.
Distribute (or indicate, if posted) the "Love Will Guide Us" lyrics. Sing "Love Will Guide Us" together.
Collect handouts/newsprint for use in future sessions.
Including All Participants
For participants who are not fluent readers, take the time to teach the opening words and the song aurally, so children can come to know them from memory.
Use an LED chalice to avoid a fire hazard and to include participants who are sensitive to smoke or scents.
ACTIVITY 1: FACTS, THEORIES, AND BELIEFS (15 MINUTES)
Materials for Activity
Preparation for Activity
Description of Activity
This activity engages participants to analyze how they know what they know about the world around us.
Say, in your own words:
Charles Darwin and his theory of evolution shocked some people in the 19th century. Many people believed God made the first human beings. They believed this because the Bible said so, and they believed in the Bible. When Darwin wanted to find out where human beings came from, he brought in more than beliefs. He brought in science, to find out facts, and reason, to understand what those facts might mean.
A "fact" is a piece of information we can test or prove to show it is true.
A "theory" is an explanation of facts, based on careful reasoning. It might, or might not, be true.
A "belief" is a statement of faith about what is true, even though you cannot prove it.
Explain, in your own words:
The word "theory" usually refers to science, while the word "belief" often refers to religion. A scientist is convinced a theory is correct because their reasoning tells them that theory is the best way to explain known facts. A religious person holds a belief because they have faith it is true.
A religious belief can never be proved—or disproved. Even a theory can only be confirmed, that is, people can agree that it might be true. A theory cannot be proved. Only a fact can be proved.
Indicate the statements you have posted on newsprint. Read each statement aloud and lead the group to decide if it is a fact, a theory, or a belief.
When the list is finished, process with these questions:
Say, in your own words:
As Unitarian Universalists, we learn from reason and science. Science helps us know facts. We use reason to make theories about what those facts mean. Reason and science help us find out more about our world. Unitarian Universalists believe that the more we understand about our world, the better we know how to use our love. Our beliefs also help us: We cannot prove that love will guide us, but, we have faith it is so.
ACTIVITY 2: STORY — DINOSAUR BONES IN NEW JERSEY (13 MINUTES)
Materials for Activity
Preparation for Activity
Description of Activity
Gather the children in a circle in the storytelling area and show them the story basket. Say something like, "Let's see what's in our story basket this week."
Tell the group the items in the story basket will be placed on this table after the children have passed them around the circle. Take the story-related items from the basket, one at a time, and pass them around. Objects that are fragile, or which should not be passed around for any reason, can be held up for all to see and then placed directly on the table.
Briefly name the various objects. Ask a wondering question about each one, such as "Is this an animal or a plant? Is this predator or prey?"
As items come back to you, display them on the table. Then say, in your own words:
I am going to share a story that tells something about the beginning of life. I'm sure you have all heard of dinosaurs. Who has heard of evolution? Evolution is how science explains how dinosaurs are connected to us. Evolution is science based on reason and a perfect way for us to explore our fifth Unitarian Universalist Source, "the use of reason and the discoveries of science." Reason is a way we think about things. An example would be, if we see clouds in the sky, we can use reason to determine that it might rain.
Now remove the sound instrument from the story basket. Tell the children that every time you tell a story, you will first use the instrument to help them get their ears, their minds, and their bodies ready to listen. Invite them to sit comfortably and close their eyes (if they are comfortable doing so). You may tell them that closing their eyes can help them focus just on listening. In a calm voice, say, in your own words:
As you breathe in, feel your body opening up with air. As you breathe out, feel yourself relaxing.
Repeat this once or twice and then say:
When I hit the chime (turn the rain stick over), listen as carefully as you can. See how long you can hear its sound. When you can no longer hear it, open your eyes and you will know it is time for the story to begin.
Sound the chime or other instrument. When the sound has gone, begin telling the story "Dinosaur Bones in New Jersey."
Use the rain stick again to indicate the story is over. Then, process with these questions:
Say, in your own words:
As Unitarian Universalists we understand we are connected to each other and the earth by an interdependent web of life. This story is one way to see how this web began, way before we were born.
Including All Participants
Make sure everyone has an opportunity to experience the items in the basket, whether by sight or touch.
You may wish to make fidget objects available to children who find it difficult to sit still while listening to a story or can focus better with sensory stimulation. Remind children where the Fidget Basket is before you begin the "centering" part of this activity. (For a full description and guidance, see Session 1, Leader Resource 4.)
Consider using rug squares in the storytelling area. Place them in a semi-circle with the rule "One person per square." This can be very helpful for controlling active bodies.
ACTIVITY 3: TAXONOMY (20 MINUTES)
Materials for Activity
Preparation for Activity
Description of Activity
This activity gives children practice applying the use of reason to the observable world.
Tell the children they will work together to group different objects into categories. Say:
Taxonomy is the science of classifying things into related families and groups. The Swedish naturalist Carolus Linneaus created a chart of all animals and plants that was so well organized scientists still use it today. We are going to practice taxonomy now by classifying the objects on the table.
Have participants choose an object to classify first. Have a volunteer or co-leader write the name of the object (in all caps) on a sticky note or index card and write down the group's answers to each question you have posted. For example, the answers for a PENCIL might be wood; yellow; not edible; no legs.
Set the first object aside, and ask the group to choose another object. Repeat the process, completing a sticky note for each object.
As a group, arrange the notes into groupings that make sense. Start by putting the notes for all the plastic things together, the notes for red things in another group, and the notes for edible things somewhere else. The questions will begin when you sort an object, for example, that is both red and plastic. Invite the children to suggest how you can arrange the notes to show that object belongs in both groups. Keep doing this until everyone is satisfied that they are arranged in the best possible way, so that similar categories and objects are near each other. This activity requires consensus. Lively discussion may arise as to the arrangement of objects.
Follow-up with questions:
Variation: Taxonomy Display
You may wish to create a display of the taxonomy the group created. Recreate the arrangement of notes on a poster. Or, match up the objects with their descriptions in a three-dimensional display. Attach the objects to the notes with tape or a glue gun. Use yarn to show similarities.
Including All Participants
Allow children to volunteer for the writing or reading roles in this activity; do not put children on the spot.
CLOSING (10 MINUTES)
Materials for Activity
Preparation for Activity
Our Unitarian Universalist beliefs come from the use of reason and the discoveries of science.
Description of Activity
Gather participants at work tables. Invite them each to decorate a Source Star to take home and share with their family. You might suggest they draw an infinity sign (a figure eight, turned on its side) or a dinosaur to represent reason and science. As children work, attach one star that says "We learn from Reason and Science" to the Night Sky.
When children are done, gather them in a circle. Say, in your own words:
Today we used reason and science to learn about our world, where we came from, and the things around us, as Charles Darwin and other scientists have done before us. This Source points us to love through learning about our world. Each time we meet in Love Will Guide Us we will talk more about love and the Sources of our Unitarian Universalist faith.
Indicate the fifth Source words you have posted on newsprint. Invite the children to follow along quietly as you read aloud:
Our Unitarian Universalist beliefs come from the use of reason and the discoveries of science.
Pause and invite volunteers to give an example of what that Source means.
If you wish to sing "Our Sources," distribute Session 1, Handout 3 or indicate the newsprint where you have posted the lyrics. Teach/lead the song, with a musical volunteer if you have invited someone to help. You might play the music clip of "Our Sources" for the children to sing along.
Distribute Taking It Home and thank participants.
Save the Night Sky display and the handouts/newsprint to use next time.
Including All Participants
At this age, children have a wide range of reading ability. Do not put individual children on the spot to read aloud.
FAITH IN ACTION: TREE OF LIFE BULLETIN BOARD (30 MINUTES)
Materials for Activity
Preparation for Activity
Description of Activity
Participants combine their scientific understand of the beginnings of life with taxonomy by creating a Tree of Life bulletin board.
Invite participants to cut out pictures of animals. Be sure to include insects, small and unusual sea creatures, worms, birds, and people. Once you have a large selection, begin categorizing the animals. Ask questions such as, "Do spiders belong with insects, or should they be included with other eight-legged critters like crabs?" Let participants decide; the taxonomy need not be scientifically correct.
Once the group has determined categories, attach pictures to the tree on the bulletin board with glue sticks or push pins. Determine which pictures belong at the roots and which belong on branches.
Title the bulletin board "UUs Love to Discover." At the bottom, attach the statement "We learn from the results of science and are guided by reason."
Including All Participants
If someone is not able to use scissors/post on the bulletin board, have them work with a partner who will cut out/post pictures they choose.
LEADER REFLECTION AND PLANNING
Take a few minutes to evaluate the session with your co-leader immediately afterward, while it is fresh. Share your thoughts with any other team leaders and your religious educator. You might find it helpful to consider these questions:
TAKING IT HOME
Science and religion are two windows that people look through, trying to understand the big universe outside, trying to understand why we are here. The two windows give different views, but both look out at the same universe. Both views are one-sided, neither is complete. Both leave out essential features of the real world. And both are worthy of respect. — Freeman Dyson, physics professor emeritus at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey, in a speech accepting the 2000 Templeton Prize for Progress in Religion
IN TODAY'S SESSION... The children explored our fifth Unitarian Universalist Source, "the use of reason and the discoveries of science." They heard a story about how a 19th-century discovery of dinosaur bones in New Jersey helped prove the earth is older than claimed in the Bible. The group talked about how reason is a way we listen to what others say; pay attention to what we ourselves see, hear, and feel; and combine what we find to try to figure out what is true.
EXPLORE THE TOPIC TOGETHER. Talk about... theology vs. science. Is there really a conflict between the notions of evolution and Divine Creation? Affirm for your children that Unitarian Universalism affirms science. The wisdom we gain using reason and learning from scientific discoveries is one Sources of Unitarian Universalist faith.
There are wonderful natural history museums around the country. If possible, go as a family (as opposed to a school field trip). Seek out displays that highlight evolution; pay close attention to birds and shells. Look for a timeline to help you show your children that evolution is a slow process that takes a very long time.
EXTEND THE TOPIC TOGETHER.
Family Discovery. Read about Michael Dowd and Connie Barlow (at www.uuworld.org/ideas/articles/2679.shtml), Unitarian Universalists who travel the country talking about the spirituality of evolution. Explore Michael Dowd and his publications further on his Thank God for Evolution (at thankgodforevolution.com/the-author) website.
Books about evolution for children include:
The Tree of Life: The Wonders of Evolution by Ellen Jackson, illustrated by Judeanne Winter Wiley (Prometheus Books, 2004), the story children heard in our session today. Jackson's approach to evolution has a spiritual quality, as do the wonderful illustrations.
Life on Earth: The Evolution by Steve Jenkins (Houghton Mifflin Books for Children, 2002).
Born with a Bang: The Universe Tells Our Cosmic Story by Jennifer Morgan (Dawn Publications, 2002).
ALTERNATE ACTIVITY 1: SHARING JOYS AND CONCERNS (7 MINUTES)
Materials for Activity
Preparation for Activity
Description of Activity
This activity invites participants to experience a ritual enacted in many Unitarian Universalist congregations. Sharing joys and concerns can deepen a group's sense of community. It gives participants a chance to share a portion of their lives in a unique way, encourages listening to others and, in many cases, makes a link with the adult worship experience.
Introduce the concept of sharing joys and concerns by saying something like:
As a community of caring people who are kind to each other, we want to know what has made you very happy or what has made you sad. You are invited to put a flame on one of these felt candles, place it on this felt board, and then share your joy or concern. Everyone in the room is asked to listen with respect. You do not have to say anything at all, if you do not want to.
Invite participants to come forward one at a time. As children share, listen without comment.
Variation
Instead of sharing their joys and concerns, invite children to light a candle and, if they wish, answer a question. A question to fit this session might be "What is something you learned in science (or, by using reason) that you thought was interesting?"
Including All Participants
If any children are reluctant to stand to address the group, allow them to speak joys and concerns from where they sit or invite them to light a candle silently.
This sharing circle can be a vital part of congregational ministry. Many congregations have in place a safe congregation policy in the event a participant reveals they are being hurt by someone. It will be important to alert your religious educator, minister, or Board president to any troubling issue that arise in this sharing.
ALTERNATE ACTIVITY 2: UU SOURCE CONSTELLATION — REASON AND SCIENCE (10 MINUTES)
Materials for Activity
Preparation for Activity
Description of Activity
Tell participants:
Our Sources are the way we are guided as Unitarian Universalists to help us live our faith.
Ask participants if they remember (or know) what a "source" is. Allow a moment for responses. Then, explain that the definition of source you are looking for has to do with origin, or beginning.
Say in your own words:
Today we are talking about the "the use of science and reason to determine who we are and where we came from." This is our fifth UU Source.
Who knows about Charles Darwin? Did you know he was a Universalist? He is the person who first described what he called "natural selection." The facts he discovered about nature helped him think of his theory of evolution. Has anyone here talked about evolution at school?
Allow children to share the relevant information they know. Then, distribute the UU Source Constellation handout. Say:
We think it's important to learn from science. We use our minds to reason as we learn about our world. So, we have a constellation named in honor of this Source. It's shaped like an infinity sign, a symbol used in science. The infinity sign looks like a number eight turned on its side. Can you find it in our Night Sky?
Give them time to look for the infinity symbol. As children find it, let them show it to you by tracing the infinity shape with their finger on their own handout.
Distribute gold and silver stars. Have children stick gold stars on the outlined stars and silver stars on the solid stars on their handouts. Then, invite them to pencil the infinity symbol by connecting the gold stars. Tell them they make take their own Reason and Science constellations home.
Say, in your own words:
As Unitarian Universalists, we learn from reason and science.
Light the chalice.
ALTERNATE ACTIVITY 3: MAKING FOSSIL IMPRINTS (30 MINUTES)
Materials for Activity
Preparation for Activity
Description of Activity
This activity replicates the way real fossil prints were created. The activity was developed by University of Michigan's Reach Out! (at www.reachoutmichigan.org/funexperiments/quick/fossilprint.html) project, which gives permission for anyone to use their materials but not to sell them. The Reach Out! project is dedicated to pairing mentors with children and youth.
A long time ago, plants, bugs, or animals left impressions in soft mud, which dried out and eventually became rock. Much of our knowledge about ancient, extinct plants and animals comes from fossil prints. For example, fossil prints have shown us the texture of dinosaur skin and helped us trace the evolution of birds, since neither skin nor feathers are likely to survive as actual fossils, the way bones do.
Ask participants to identify what they have uncovered. Follow up with questions such as:
Including All Participants
Clay made with wheat products can be irritating to those with allergies. There are gluten-free clay products available.
ALTERNATE ACTIVITY 4: WHO GETS EATEN? (15 MINUTES)
Materials for Activity
Preparation for Activity
Description of Activity
This activity demonstrates natural selection by engaging participants in a scenario that requires reasoning. The entire concept of natural selection may be difficult for young children to grasp; the main objective is to demonstrate that those individuals that blend with their environments are less likely to be caught by predators. More of the "blenders" tend to survive and therefore have an opportunity to reproduce.
Tell participants they are going on a hunt—a hunt for woolly worms. Say, in your own words:
All around the country, especially in the Northeast, we see caterpillars that are called woolly worms or woolly bears. They will become a moth, if they are not eaten. We're going to pretend that pieces of yarn are the caterpillars and you are birds! The caterpillars are all around this room. How many can you find?
IMPORTANT: Do not show them a sample! Let them discover the worms on their own.
Let them know that this is not a competition. You will collect all the woolly worms they each find. Give participants no more than 30 seconds to hunt for woolly worms. It's important that "predators" do not have enough time to catch all of the "prey". Show them the area they can search and set the timer.
Gather everyone together and collect the pieces of yarn. Have children sort them out by color. Together, count how many of each color were found.
Process the activity with these questions:
Including All Participants
Participants with limited mobility can take a role in collecting, sorting, and counting the woolly worms others find.
LOVE WILL GUIDE US: SESSION 3:
STORY: DINOSAUR BONES IN NEW JERSEY
By Gail Forsyth-Vail.
About two hundred years ago, lots of people in North America and in Europe were discovering all kinds of wondrous things in the ground. They found coal to burn for fuel, iron for making machinery, nickel for creating tools and candlesticks and other useful items. They found marl, a grey, clay-like substance full of calcium carbonate, garden lime, which made wonderful fertilizer. Those who owned the pits where such items were located counted themselves lucky and hired workers to dig up those resources and bring them to market to sell.
Diggers, especially those working in marl pits, found interesting things stuck in the thick, grey substance—bits of seashell, pieces of bone, and gigantic skulls that bore a resemblance to the small lizards that now ran in the fields. When they brought those curiosities home to show their children and neighbors, people were fascinated. It was clear that the marl pits had once been at the bottom of the ocean. They concluded that the skulls and bones must be left over from an ancient flood described in the Bible. The Bible story told of how all creatures, except for those in Noah's ark, had drowned. Surely such strange bones could only have come from that ancient flood!
But there were those who realized that something didn't quite fit with the flood story. They collected specimens—and wondered.
Let's move forward in time to 1839 in Haddonfield, New Jersey, William Hopkins hired workers to dig up marl in a stream bed in his backyard. As they dug, they cast aside shells and bits of bone. What was really important was removing the rich grey clay and getting to market to be sold. And then they encountered something extraordinary in the marl pit! The found a skeleton, complete except for the skull, of a giant lizard-like creature, a creature as tall as a house! The workers told Hopkins about their discovery. "Leave it be and dig around it," was his reply.
Three years later, a scientist in England looked at the pieces of bone he had collected from marl pits in his area and came forth with an astonishing theory. He concluded that the bits of bone proved that there were once great lizards—"dinosaurs" that roamed the earth. "Impossible!" "What folly!" "You have too big an imagination!" People all over the world criticized the new idea. According to the Bible, God created all species in the same week, about six thousand years ago. Giant lizards were no where mentioned in the Bible, so they must not have existed.
The debate raged between those who thought that dinosaurs might have once roamed the earth and those who thought such an idea nonsense. Meanwhile, the skeleton remained in the marl pit in Haddonfield, New Jersey.
For twenty years, William Hopkins had a giant lizard skeleton the size of a house in a marl pit in his back yard, and he never gave it a second thought. Until one day, when he invited his friend William Foulke over for dinner. Foulke was a collector of fossils, small bits of bone and shell, and Hopkins wanted very much to impress him. He told the story of the skeleton in the backyard over dinner that night in 1858. Foulke wasted no time. He was back the next day to view the find.
There it was in the marl pit- proof of the existence of dinosaurs. It was the first nearly complete skeleton to be found anywhere on earth. Its discovery made news worldwide!
Foulke arranged for workers to remove the skeleton from the pit and to exhibit the creature—named hadrosaurus foulkii—at the Philadelphia Museum of Natural History.
The existence of dinosaurs had been proven—and the race to find out more about these mysterious creatures had begun!
LOVE WILL GUIDE US: SESSION 3:
HANDOUT 1: TREE OF LIFE COLORING SHEET
From the Edupics website. Copyright Reuben de Kievith (kief.be); permission pending.
LOVE WILL GUIDE US: SESSION 3:
HANDOUT 2: UU SOURCE CONSTELLATION: REASON AND SCIENCE
LOVE WILL GUIDE US: SESSION 3:
LEADER RESOURCE 1: UU SOURCE CONSTELLATION ANSWER SHEET: REASON AND SCIENCE
LOVE WILL GUIDE US: SESSION 3:
LEADER RESOURCE 2: FACT, THEORY, OR BELIEF?
The earth is round. | Fact |
Angels are real. | Belief |
It is raining outside. | Fact |
Play time is important for children. | Theory |
God protects us from bad things. | Belief |
Germs make people get sick. | Fact |
We can catch a cold from not wearing a jacket in cold weather. | Theory |
People are good inside their hearts. | Belief |
LOVE WILL GUIDE US: SESSION 3:
LEADER RESOURCE 3: SOURCE STAR: REASON AND SCIENCE
FIND OUT MORE
Charles Darwin
We cannot talk of evolution without mentioning Darwin. Charles Darwin was a Unitarian. His theory on natural selection was incomplete 150 years ago, but today, many questions have been answered. The theory of evolution generated new scientific disciplines, such as the study of DNA, that further our understanding of life. No one who respects science denies the importance of Darwin's discoveries.
Books and Online Resources
On the Origin of Species: The Illustrated Edition by Charles Darwin (Sterling, 2008), released to honor the 150-year anniversary of the book's original publication
The Blind Watchmaker: Why the Evidence of Evolution Reveals a Universe without Design by Richard Dawkins (W. W. Norton & Co., 1996)
The Blank Slate: The Modern Denial of Human Nature by Steven Pinker (Penguin, 2003)
The Flamingo's Smile: Reflections in Natural History by Stephen Jay Gould (W. W. Norton & Co., 1987)
The Selfish Gene by Richard Dawkins (Oxford University Press, 2006)
The Third Chimpanzee: The Evolution and Future of the Human Animal by Jared Diamond (Harper Perennial, 2006)
The Encyclopedia of Life (at www.eol.org/)
Your Inner Fish: A Journey into the 3.5-Billion-Year History of the Human Body by Neil Shubin (Vintage, 2009).