Detetive paleontológico: o destino dos fósseis de plantas do Geopark Araripe como ferramenta para o ensino das Geociências

Abstract

The goal of this work is to present a catalogue of fossil plants collected in Geopark Araripe and a educational game based on it. We indicated the macrofossils depositories of that Geopark, aiming to facilitate further Paleobotanic studies and to spread the scientific divulgation of this important paleoflora. We based the catalogue on bibliographic and scientific databases research. We found 140 specimens belonging to 34 clades (taxonomic groups). Most of the plant fossils collected in the mentioned Geopark is deposited at Natural History Museum of Berlin, followed by Institute of Geosciences of University of São Paulo. The catalogue was used to develop a “PERFIL®” style game, intended for elementary students. This game explores concepts of interpretation, logic, biology and Geosciences knowledge from a interdisciplinar perspective. This is achieved using hints to relate the fossil history with the taxon evolution and the museum where the fossil is deposited. Finally, we hope to contribute to divulgation and conservation of the botanical fossil records from that Geopark.