Seeking advice: 8 y/o obsessed with shark teeth

[Wuggo]

My son asked to be taken to find shark teeth for his birthday.  We are planning a trip to Calvert Cliffs in May.  Does anyone have any suggestions to make this kids bday a success?  

[Thecosmilia Trichitoma]

I know that there are many fossil hunting guides that do guided trips in the area. For first time fossil hunters, it might be useful to have someone more experienced helping you find more fossils.

[Darktooth]

There are only a few places with public access. Those being, Brownies Beach, Mataoka Cottages, Flag Ponds Nature Park, and Calvert Cliffs State Park. All produce shark teeth as well as other Miocene fossils. But some produce better than others and that is always dependent on different factors such as tides, weather, number of visitors. Brownies Beach is the most dangerous because it has the most cliff falls. But is the best producer of the bunch.  But you should be able to find some teeth at any other these sites my suggestion for a first time newbie is to do a combination of surface searching at the waterline, and bring a sifter and shovel for backup. Good luck!

[bthemoose]

2 hours ago, Darktooth said:

There are only a few places with public access. Those being, Brownies Beach, Mataoka Cottages, Flag Ponds Nature Park, and Calvert Cliffs State Park. All produce shark teeth as well as other Miocene fossils. But some produce better than others and that is always dependent on different factors such as tides, weather, number of visitors. Brownies Beach is the most dangerous because it has the most cliff falls. But is the best producer of the bunch.  But you should be able to find some teeth at any other these sites my suggestion for a first time newbie is to do a combination of surface searching at the waterline, and bring a sifter and shovel for backup. Good luck!

 

Brownie's Beach remains closed to non-town residents during the pandemic. The areas below the cliffs are also no longer open, which limits what you can find walking the beach.

 

@Wuggo, in addition to the other three Calvert Cliffs access points @Darktooth mentioned, you might consider a trip to Purse State Park and/or Douglas Point (two sites that are very close to each other), which are on the Potomac River in Charles County, Maryland, and a little over an hour drive from the Calvert Cliffs spots. The formations there are older than the Calvert Cliffs (Paleocene instead of Miocene in age) and you'll thus find different species. Both areas are worth doing, but you're pretty much guaranteed to find a good amount of fossil shark teeth along the Potomac, whereas you might find fewer along the Calvert Cliffs on your first trip. There's pretty good info on fossilguy.com about the Maryland spots as well as in various threads on this forum.

 

Be sure to also check the tides to make sure you're hitting water levels when they're lower, both along the Chesapeake Bay and the Potomac, which is tidal. You can find nearby tidal gauges and predictions for the different spots by searching online. While you can sometimes time the tides right to fossil hunt at both the Calvert Cliffs and Potomac on the same day, you're probably better off hitting the sites on different days.

[LabRatKing]

Worst case scenario, use the trick I use for the land locked Cub Scouts here in Nebraska:

 

I make "fossils" for them. I found the younger kids get disgusted quickly if they don't find fossils right away, and the weather here often prevents them from going to our local sites anyway, sooo...

 

One can purchase small fossils and fossil shark teeth in bulk via the main e-commerce sites for very little money. I buy this kit and then do the following:

 

To start, get a bag of plaster of paris from the local hardware store, some all purpose flour, some sand and some brown or gray acrylic paint.

Spread out a bit of plastic sheeting or a tarp and make a thin layer of sand and if you like dirt and gravel from your yard. Take a handful of your fossils and scatter them on the dirty tarp too. The whole mess should be about a foot to a side.

Then, dry mix together 4 cups of plaster, 2 cups of flour and 2 cups of sand.

Add water according to the plaster instructions and mix well. (I use a thrift store electric mixer, the kind with dual beaters)

Be prepared to add a little extra water, a 1/4 cup at a time, to thin it out a bit. It should be the consistency of gravy and have lots of small bubbles.

While mixing, blob in a spoonful or so of the acrylic paint (and a spoonful of dish detergent, like Dawn) to give it the color of rock of your choice and then stir in a hand full or two more of the fossils with a stick.

Once the fossils are stirred in mix, pour it out in a thick layer on top of the sand dirt and fossils on the tarp.

Throw a few more handfuls of sand and dirt on top of this to get the full "fresh dug rock look" if you like

Let it dry over night, then peel it of the tarp, break it up into manageable chunks.

 

Viola! You have now have "rocks" that guarantee the kiddo will find fossils!

 

Turn them loose in the back yard with a small hammer and a pile of these rocks.

Grab a seat and crack a beverage for yourself and watch them have a blast "digging" fossils.

 

once they have a bunch out of the "rock", they can learn to "prep" the fossils with a bucket of water and an old toothbrush or the like.

 

Because I usually end up with big groups, I often purchase just the bulk fossils rather than the sorting kit and lay out a grid on the tarp so I can ensure each child gets three or so fossils per "rock" Last year I ended up having about 25lbs worth extra, so I gave them to a coworker with young children. During the lockdown, he said is kids spent days smashing plaster open in the garage and Prepping fossils in the back yard. 

Edited April 3, 2021 by LabRatKing

[jdp]

Been a while since I was last in the Chesapeake Bay but one thing that might help you have success is to check the tide forecast and aim your visit to coincide with low tide. The lower the tide, the more beach will be exposed, including the lower-tide shell-beds which accumulate a lot of teeth. This also lets you stay away from the cliffs themselves, which are a serious rockfall hazard.

 

Of the locations in the bay, the one I've had the best luck with was Westmoreland State Park, but again, I'm not a local so my experience is not necessarily representative.