What is the Sahara Connection? Getting from Here to There Why are you looking for Dinosaurs in Africa? Stat Sheet: 1997 Expedition to Niger What is Camp Life Like? What Kind of Animals Have You Seen? How is it in Niger? What is the Field Work Like? How to Dig A Dinosaur in 10 Easy Steps What are the Next Steps? Letters to the Field

On September 1, 1997, an international team of scientists, university students and a teacher departed for a four-month expedition to the Sahara desert to look for Late Cretaceous dinosaurs. The expedition --- led by University of Chicago professor Paul Sereno --- had two missions: excavate a mass death site of 60-foot long herbivorous dinosaurs and paint a picture of what the dinosaur world was like on Africa 130 million years ago.

The Sahara Connection Curriculum Project was inspired by requests from students, parents and teachers who asked me to send them "a postcard from Africa." As the list of requests grew, I decided I wanted to find a way to have a letter from the field be meaningful to students’ own work and explorations. In late September, teachers received packets in the mail which included information about the 1997 Niger expedition, curriculum suggestions and guidelines for a letter exchange.

Between October and December expedition members made four visits to the U.S. Embassy in Niamey, Niger (600 miles south of our field area) to check if there was any mail for us. We were flooded with letters! I and other team members responded to each and included a Polaroid photo of us in the field.

This exhibit chronicles the story of the 1997 Niger expedition and shares some of the questions students asked us, answers they received and (hopefully) the excitement of being connected to a real expedition.

--- Gabrielle Lyon

Co-Founder, Project Exploration