It’s not every day students get to look at prehistoric bones but last term students from around the state got an expert-guided view via videoconference.

Australian Museum palaeontologists Fran Dorey and Robert Jones shared their knowledge about dinosaurs and their work with primary students from each of the 10 regions.

The pair displayed the fossilised arm, skull, jaw and toe bones belonging to the Centrosaurus, a dinosaur that roamed the northern hemisphere 75 million years ago.

Mr Jones told students the bones were found in a “bone bed” in Alberta, Canada in 1991.

“A bone bed is a jumbled mass of bones, the animals had died or were decaying and the bones had been all washed together,” he said.

The videoconference was held at the department’s Bridge Street interactive classroom suite.

Education outcomes business change manager (schools) Sue Beveridge said the session focused on outcomes in the Kindergarten to Year 6 science and technology syllabus (living things) and gave students a taste of the museum’s new Dinosaur exhibition.

“We can’t bring you the exhi-bitions,” Ms Beveridge said. “But what we thought we might do is bring you the palaeontologists and experts behind those exhibitions.”

Following a short presentation about the fossilised bones and excavation tools a student from each of the 10 schools asked questions of the experts.

Carrington Public School student Daniel D asked the palaeontologists what they loved most about their jobs.

Mr Jones, who like Ms Dorey had worked in Canada to excavate and transport sections of the bone bed to Australia, said palaeontology had been a life-long hobby.

“The best part … is actually going out into the field and collecting the fossils,” he said.

Teachers from participating schools said the videoconference had sparked student interest.

Narrabri Public School teacher Nicole Allison said the videoconferences were a fantastic learning opportunity, particularly for isolated students.

“We get to go on excursion to Canberra every two years … so to have access to experts like this is phenomenal,” Mrs Allison said.

Thirroul Public School teacher Maria Horan-Beattie said her students were “really engaged with the scientists and keen to find out more about the dinosaur dig and palaeontology”.

Ms Dorey, the museum’s exhibition manager, said the Connected Classrooms Program gave the museum a chance to extend its outreach program.

“It’s actually a big part of our corporate strategy,” Ms Dorey said. “We can’t go long distances or take our collections into school.”