Legacy of Lost Canyon
Adolescent friends investigate ancient cave ruins, and learn how and why drugs were used to create cave art. Interwoven with the story are science facts about drugs and medicine, and how they affect the brain, central nervous system and the body.
Synopsis: Members of the NeuroExplorers club help Professor Sally Hazelton investigate an archeological site, once concealed by waters behind a dam. As they explore the dangerous environs, the group discusses ancient peoples' beliefs, and why and how cave art might have been created. When they reach the site, they find holes gouged in the rock walls—the pictographs destroyed! What happened to the pictographs?
Legacy of Lost Canyon also features informative science boxes that highlight related topics to discuss, for example, structure of the brain, neurons and their functions, neurotransmitters, hormones, mind-altering drugs, how chemicals act as nervous system messengers, and the difference between drug abuse and drug addiction.
This book is an integrated component of the Brain Chemistry unit, but may be used as a stand-alone reading activity or with reading/language arts lessons found in Brain Chemistry: The Reading Link.
Legacy of Lost Canyon is most appropriate for use with students in grades 5-10.
Funded by the following grant(s)
National Institute on Drug Abuse, NIH
The Learning Brain: Interactive Inquiry for Teachers and Students
Grant Number: 5R25DA033006
Science Education Partnership Award, NIH
Filling the Gaps: K-6 Science/Health Education
Grant Number: 5R25RR013454