Fossildude19 Posted January 20, 2012 Author Share Posted January 20, 2012 (edited) Marley- Thanks for the supplement to my tour - well done indeed! You may want to take some better pics of that Diplomoceras! I was kinda focused on the Newark Supergroup stuff.... Honestly, my family's patience with Museums was stretched pretty thin here, which is why I took so many pictures. Too much to see, and nagging teens wanting to go elsewhere! Wish I lived closer to it. It's an awesome museum - and that you get to help with supplying the fossil lab is too cool! Thanks again, MG! Regards, Edited January 20, 2012 by Fossildude19 Tim - VETERAN SHALE SPLITTER VFOTM --- APRIL - 2015 __________________________________________________ "In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks." John Muir ~ ~ ~ ~ ><))))( *> About Me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wrangellian Posted January 20, 2012 Share Posted January 20, 2012 (edited) <br />Since Fossildude is tired out from posting all these pictures and it's a little inconvenient for him to go back for more, I'll respond to this special request. <img alt=" " class="bbc_emoticon" src="http://www.thefossilforum.com/public/style_emoticons/default/smile.png" /><br /> <br /> First, a wider angle view of that wall. Note that the detailed labels for these specimens are in the form of flip-top pages, in front of the wall:<br /> Thanks.. I can understand being tired after all that... I'm not sure why the labels had to be so far from the items, there seems to be enough room around each item to include at least the name and location, but a nice display nonetheless. Interesting idea to mount them on the wall like that.. I'm interested in the Diplomoceras because we have them on Hornby Island up north of me, and I have one or two modest specimens from there. Edited January 20, 2012 by Wrangellian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarleysGh0st Posted January 20, 2012 Share Posted January 20, 2012 I'm not sure why the labels had to be so far from the items, there seems to be enough room around each item to include at least the name and location, but a nice display nonetheless. Interesting idea to mount them on the wall like that.. Well, there's a science to museum display design, too. (In what follows, I'm trying to recall what I heard on the behind-the-scenes tour I took, last March, but I don't remember the exact nicknames or statistics they mentioned.) Visitors to a museum fall into three groups, ranging from sprinters who race past everything but the highlights of the collection (like the whale and the mastodon) to skimmers who will glance at a little of each display before moving on, to those who will carefully read everything that's presented to them. The display designers have to keep all of these groups in mind and think of a hierarchy of points they'd like the displays to communicate to each of them, bearing in mind the very limited time available to do that. I think, for this wall, they were trying to present a clean and uncluttered display of the fossils, along with a basic overview of the concept of taxonomic classification at the phylum level. For those like us in the forum, who want all the locality and stratigraphy information, it's readily available in those two-ring binders. (A little hand-on interactivity is always valuable in a display, too!) Most of the other visitors won't really care about that beyond noticing that, "hey, these things are all from around here!" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wrangellian Posted January 21, 2012 Share Posted January 21, 2012 I would think if people didn't care about the info, they wouldn't read the labels even if it were next to the fossils, and I guess the designers weren't thinking about people taking photos either, who obviously have to take separate pics of the data. No complaints other than that - Thanks again to both of you for giving a 'tour' for those of us who aren't likely to ever make it over there to see in person! That is an impressive Diplomoceras.. where is it from? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarleysGh0st Posted January 21, 2012 Share Posted January 21, 2012 That is an impressive Diplomoceras.. where is it from? The Diplomoceras is from Seymour Island, off the coast of Antarctica. It's part of the Zinsmeister collection that was given to PRI, a couple years ago. I posted a link, further up in this thread, to an article in American Paleontologist that gives its story in more detail. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ramo Posted January 21, 2012 Share Posted January 21, 2012 Wow, Thanks Tim! Don't all those complete CT fish just get your blood pumping to get back out hunting!!! Makes me want to get back up there! Ramo For one species to mourn the death of another is a new thing under the sun. -Aldo Leopold Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fossildude19 Posted January 21, 2012 Author Share Posted January 21, 2012 Wow, Thanks Tim! Don't all those complete CT fish just get your blood pumping to get back out hunting!!! Makes me want to get back up there! Ramo Yup! Ramo - those fish are my inspiration ! Really wanna find one like that this year. Holler at me whenever you're in the area! Regards, Tim - VETERAN SHALE SPLITTER VFOTM --- APRIL - 2015 __________________________________________________ "In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks." John Muir ~ ~ ~ ~ ><))))( *> About Me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wrangellian Posted January 21, 2012 Share Posted January 21, 2012 (edited) The Diplomoceras is from Seymour Island, off the coast of Antarctica. It's part of the Zinsmeister collection that was given to PRI, a couple years ago. I posted a link, further up in this thread, to an article in American Paleontologist that gives its story in more detail. I should have looked at the link.. Something in the back of my mind told me it was from there, I seem to recall an article in Discover Magazine, I think, about that discovery some years back, and I dont recall any of those that complete being found elsewhere. Those fish are impressive too, they are on par with the Wapiti Lake BC fish (Triassic) and one found on the north end of Vancouver Isl. (also Tri.) Edit: Oh I see now that parts of that Diplo. are reconstructed... oh well, still the most complete I've heard of. BTW those fossils in the 'discovery area for kids' are not your average fossils, either! Better than most of my stuff.. Edited January 21, 2012 by Wrangellian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nearpass Posted January 26, 2012 Share Posted January 26, 2012 All those buckets of fossils that we bring in from Portland Point will end up in those trays on the table. Visitors to the museum can look through those, get help identifying the fossils they find, and take one home with them. Clearly, this station is aimed at kids, but our adult visitors are welcome, too! Had a chance to take some kids today...your buckets were well used! It was the main thing they wanted to do after our tour: Some of my favorites: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nearpass Posted January 26, 2012 Share Posted January 26, 2012 Also: And of course, the big guy: and this very cool section of the Diplomoceras: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Indy Posted January 26, 2012 Share Posted January 26, 2012 Breathtaking ... What a wonderful museum Wish we had something half as good here in Missouri Thanks for sharing and the pictorial tour Flash from the Past (Show Us Your Fossils)MAPS Fossil Show Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fossildude19 Posted January 26, 2012 Author Share Posted January 26, 2012 (edited) Also: And of course, the big guy: and this very cool section of the Diplomoceras: Nearpass, Thanks for posting more pics of that guy! Mine came out less than stellar! Very nice additon to the "trip"! I'm just sorry I don't live closer! Regards, Edited January 26, 2012 by Fossildude19 Tim - VETERAN SHALE SPLITTER VFOTM --- APRIL - 2015 __________________________________________________ "In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks." John Muir ~ ~ ~ ~ ><))))( *> About Me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nearpass Posted January 27, 2012 Share Posted January 27, 2012 Nearpass, Thanks for posting more pics of that guy! Mine came out less than stellar! Very nice additon to the "trip"! I'm just sorry I don't live closer! Regards, Thanks. He's so big, it's hard to get a good shot, between the dim lighting and the glass case. I'm lucky to live only 45 min. from there, but it's been a couple of years, at least, since I was last there. It seems there's always something new to see. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarleysGh0st Posted January 27, 2012 Share Posted January 27, 2012 Had a chance to take some kids today...your buckets were well used! It was the main thing they wanted to do after our tour: Great! What did they find? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nearpass Posted January 27, 2012 Share Posted January 27, 2012 Great! What did they find? Well, not too much today. Lots of smaller 'shells,' as they called them, and one of the kids found a small trilobite 'tail.' But, they had a great time, they are x-box and iphone kids who've probably never done anything close this...a couple of them didn't know what to do with the magnifying lenses. The sad thing is they are really bright, just have no exploratory tools and less imagination. We're working on that. We were glad you guys dig away at Plaster Point, and I, for one, thank you for your efforts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarleysGh0st Posted January 27, 2012 Share Posted January 27, 2012 You're welcome, nearpass! While you were touring the museum, I was over in the Collections department doing some more bagging and tagging. Plus I got to do a little "lock and key archeology" today; some of the specimen cabinets may need to be moved, and they wanted to match up which keys went to which locks. It was like finding a box of old keys when cleaning out your grandparents' house! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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