The Exceptional Fossil Site of Las Hoyas (SPAIN) from an Educational Perspective

Abstract

International audienceThe paleontological heritage of the fossil site of Las Hoyas (Early Cretaceous of Cuenca, Spain) is becoming a relevant part of the sociocultural identity of Castilla-La Mancha autonomous community in general, and of Cuenca province in particular. The most recent scientific advances, including several fossil findings that have had high scientific impact, have made Las Hoyas to regularly be the center of attention in the local, national, and international media, especially since the reinterpretation of the paleoecosystem represented by the locality published in 2010. These results have led to a renaissance of the interest of the society for this unique site. As a consequence, Las Hoyas has been declared Site of Cultural Interest by the regional government, in the form of paleontological zone. This recognition, which grants the locality with the highest level of protection, sets a legal framework for the educative initiatives developed at this locality, which can be categorized as non-formal education, formal education, and Social Paleontology

Heritage Outreach, Fossils, Dinosaurs and Sites: How Locals’ Perception Changes After 10 Years of Actions in Historic Urban Villages (Cuenca, Spain)

“…Both museums have developed educational activities, MCCM since 2012 and MUPA since its creation in 2015, related to Earth Sciences, Palaeontology and, recently, a limited selection devoted to Evolution. Both museums (MCCM 2019;MUPA 2019) have displays and offer guided tours with instructors to explain the scientific context and fossils being exhibited. Both museums organise visits for school groups, and the information provided by the instructors is delivered according to the official school syllabus.…”

“…Researchers have also studied the potential of fossil sites in the field of formal education, with higher education students participating in practical lectures about excavation campaigns and receiving expert palaeontological talks in museums. It is expected that these actions will encourage the training and professionalisation of future palaeontologists (Martín-Abad et al 2017). Furthermore, researchers working at the Las Hoyas site have organised every year, since 2013, an open day where they show people the site and their work with the fossils.…”

“…7). Since Cuenca has developed a wide range of heritage outreach strategies (Martín-Abad et al 2017), an objective was made to understand what palaeontological elements were the most appreciated Table 1 List of the questions used for the surveys (2010 and 2019). Questions 1 to 3 are demographic categories.…”