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Help Spread Paleontology Mania: First Texas, Next North America, Finally The World


MammothPaleoGuy

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Hello All!

I need your help, but first I'd best introduce myself. I'm the new Program Coordinator -- and on-site paleontologist -- for the Waco Mammoth Site. For those of unfamiliar with the site, it's a late-Pleistocene recurrent mass-mortality site for Columbian mammoths and a scattering of other Rancholabrean megafauna. From 68 KA onwards at least two groups of mammoths and their camp-followers got caught in flash floods along a tributary of the Bosque River in what would become the western outskirts of Waco, TX. The site is currently a city-run in-situ display of six of those mammoths, in an enclosed climate-controlled shelter. The facility is loaded with educational potential, but at the moment all we've got is a (very nice) guided tour. I want to do better.

One of the educational activities I'm looking to add in the near future is a screen-washing. I'll have the students screen and pick fossiliferous sediment and ID what they've found. They'll be able to keep most of what they find (with exceptions for scientifically important specimens) and all of their findings will get entered into a database that will be run through the PAST statistical package. I'll write up the results and try to get them published -- with the kids listed individually in the acknowledgements. The kids get real fossils, they get to participate in a real scientific study, and I get to do some research. I think it's an idea with potential, with one wrinkle; I'm having a hard time getting the sediment! I've tried buying phosphate gravel from the mines in Florida and North Carolina, but my efforts seem to be stalling. I know that some such gravel is available for resale, but it's a tad pricey. There's no way I could afford to buy the 100 or so kilos I want on the shoe-string budget I've got for the time being. If anyone has a line on a better source of bulk sediment, I'd love to hear from you! In fact, if you've got any ideas for spreading interest in paleontology, we need to talk. Paleontology is the gateway drug of science -- if we want to teach critical thinking in this country, fossils are the best place to start. Please help me work to make that happen.

Regards,

Don Esker

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Don what company here in NC did you contact?? Not sure what expenses would be incurred shipping material all the way from NC or FL. Is there not some quarries locally in TX that has material worthy of hunting?? I wish there was a way to get Lee Creek or some FL material to you easily to help with your vision. Maybe some of our TX members can tell you more about local sites that might help you bring this to be... Jeff/Tarheel

BTW I think its a great idea. We need to bring up future generations to love what all of us here love. :)

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If available, Texas material would be desirable; it has that "home state" thing going for it (and that's a big deal in TX), and the logistics of transportation would likely be simplified. If the park has a "Friends Of" group, they might be able to extend your budget; if the park doesn't have such a group, it ought to be on your project list ;)

"There has been an alarming increase in the number of things I know nothing about." - Ashleigh Ellwood Brilliant

“Try to learn something about everything and everything about something.” - Thomas Henry Huxley

>Paleontology is an evolving science.

>May your wonders never cease!

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Don,

I agree with the comments the others shared about bulk sampling material from Texas localities. I know there are a number of local quarry guys who may be willing to help. I still have the contact information from some of them from my time with the DPS. I can hook you up with some of that information. Whomever the current field trip chairman is for the Dallas Paleontological Society should be able to help with some contact names as well.

A question, though, please. Bulk sampling Texas material is not nearly as productive as the North Carolina material you mentioned. There are localities from which material can be dug and brought in, but it is likely to be sparsely to only somewhat productive. Much of the material may be invertebrate in nature as well.

Do you have an idea of how much bulk material you need and about how highly concentrated the fossil content should be? Also, were you looking for vertebrate or invertebrate material? These answers may help narrow down the list of quarry operators to contact.

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If available, Texas material would be desirable; it has that "home state" thing going for it (and that's a big deal in TX), and the logistics of transportation would likely be simplified. If the park has a "Friends Of" group, they might be able to extend your budget; if the park doesn't have such a group, it ought to be on your project list ;)

I agree with Auspex, Don. You have an excellent potential source right there in town at the "Waco Pit". Surely something could be worked out with The Corps of Engineers. ;)

The human mind has the ability to believe anything is true.  -  JJ

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Hi Don...

Welcome to both Waco and the Fossil Forum. Sounds like you are off to a good start down there, and these folks have chimed in with some good ideas. Not that I can help you any from up here.

jpc

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MammothPaleoGuy...

Congratulations on your appointment to your new position and I applaud your interest in getting kids involved. I remember visiting the Waco site back in the mid-1980s when it was first beginning to attract attention and I'm glad to hear that it is being properly looked after.

I have conducted numerous 'in the classroom fossil hunts' with students in the Dallas area and I've almost always used sediments that I personally collected from roadside embankments in the Bridgeport/Jacksboro area. Though the sediments are Carboniferous (Pennsylvanian, mostly) and not Pleistocene, they are rich in fossils of crinoid stems, brachiopods, fusilinids, gastropods, sponges, horn corals and the occasional trilobite bit. I would usually just take a little road trip to that area with some 5-gallon buckets and a shovel and look for likely exposures along the road. Once I was satistfied that the sediments were fossiliferous I would simply gather up as much as I needed and take them back to my classroom. A little butcher paper spread out on the floor served as my 'hunting' area and all I had to do was pour out the sediments, give the kids a few simple tools (paintbrush, magnifying glass, identification key, etc.)and turn them loose. This worked well for students from elementary school through high school and I suspect it would work equally well for pretty much all age groups.

I don't know the legal ramifications (if any) of digging up a few hundred pounds of roadside sediments but in the years that I did that activity I never had any issues with the police or highway patrol when they stopped by to see what I was doing.

-Joe

Illigitimati non carborundum

Fruitbat's PDF Library

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Jeff,

I contacted PotashCorp. Of all the places I've tried to contact they seemed the most interested. Unfortunately it's been a while since I've heard back from them, despite my emails. I know they do educational stuff for local schools, but it may be that we're too far away. Thanks for the encouragement, though!

Don what company here in NC did you contact?? Not sure what expenses would be incurred shipping material all the way from NC or FL. Is there not some quarries locally in TX that has material worthy of hunting?? I wish there was a way to get Lee Creek or some FL material to you easily to help with your vision. Maybe some of our TX members can tell you more about local sites that might help you bring this to be... Jeff/Tarheel

BTW I think its a great idea. We need to bring up future generations to love what all of us here love. :)

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Auspex, Vertman, JohnJ, & Fruitbat;

Thanks so much for all the great ideas.

In response to Auspex question, there is sort of a 'Friends Of' group, in the form of the Waco Mammoth Foundation. While the City of Waco pays salaries, utilities, and maintenance costs, it was the WMF that paid the millions it took to get the site built and open to the public. They're a fantastic group, but unfortunately they're very low profile – there’s not even a website. Moreover, membership is by invitation only. I'm the Program Coordinator here and I'm not allowed; only the Great and the Good need apply. They're fantastic people, and I wouldn't be here without them, but I agree we need a more inclusive group. I've just got to figure out how to found one without stepping on the toes of our benefactors.

Vertman, I'd be delighted to be put in touch with any local quarry guys you might know. Having just moved here from the other mammoth site in South Dakota, I don't know the rocks or the land owners around here as well as I'd like. I'm in VP myself, but for a kid's project, invert material wouldn't be a deal breaker. I guess I'd more-or-less figured that Texas stuff wouldn't be as productive as the phosphate pits; pretty much nowhere is as productive as the phosphate pits. That said, I'd like to be able to guarantee at least one fossil per kid. Going home empty-handed is often the reality for every paleontologist, but it's a reality I'd prefer the kids not have to face just yet. As far as the quantity goes, I'll be debuting this activity for a class of 300 6th graders. I was thinking that somewhere around 35 kg / 75 lbs ought to be enough. I really appreciate your help.

JohnJ, I've taken your advice I've contacted the Corps. Right now its looking like they allow permitted surface collecting, but that bulk sediment collecting might be tricky. Even if I can't use it as a source for sediment, it'll still make a great field trip activity for the students. Thanks for the tip!

Fruitbat Joe, thank you for the tips on logistics; the butcher paper idea sounds good. Now I just need to acquaint myself with the local roadside embankments. From what I can gather, most everything in the immediate area Austin Chalk or related limestones. I'd really prefer something Cenozoic, but I guess beggars can't be choosers.

Again, thank you all for your help, and keep those suggestions coming!

Regards,

Don Esker

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...there is sort of a 'Friends Of' group, in the form of the Waco Mammoth Foundation. While the City of Waco pays salaries, utilities, and maintenance costs, it was the WMF that paid the millions it took to get the site built and open to the public. They're a fantastic group, but unfortunately they're very low profile – there’s not even a website. Moreover, membership is by invitation only...

In a way, you're lucky; sometimes the heroes who step up first develop a proprietary attitude about "their baby", and can't let go. If these fine folks are more invested in the "big picture", they at least won't try to dictate every little thing you want to do (here I speak from experience). The Foundation may be fine with the establishment of a more rank-and-file group that is dedicated to directly supporting the type of programs you are going to, especially since it takes nothing away from what they do. I assume you have opened a dialog with the educators within field-trip range?

"There has been an alarming increase in the number of things I know nothing about." - Ashleigh Ellwood Brilliant

“Try to learn something about everything and everything about something.” - Thomas Henry Huxley

>Paleontology is an evolving science.

>May your wonders never cease!

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Don

I've been to your site twice--an amazing Texas treasure. Both times I was with other science teachers, and they were all duly impressed as well.

I'm a sixth grade science teacher. One way to simulate micro vertebrate paleontology is with owl pellets. Two kids can work together on one pellet to save on costs.

When letting the kids sort matrix, it's always a good idea to "seed" the samples a bit. That guarantees no one will be disappointed.

Best of luck. Sounds like a great job.

Mike

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Here is another suggestion. :) The gem mines here in NC salt there dirt with gems from all over as well as local gems. What if you get some fossil teeth and other small fossils and salt some dirt. The kids could search this material via small bucket or something where each container would contain a handful of fossils for them to take home... Just a thought anyways.... Jeff/Tarheel

(edit) I see Mikecable beat me to the suggestion. :) :)

(2nd Edit) :) do not throw out material after kids go through it reuse and re-salt that way all you have to do is get the fossils for them to find via donations. :)

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Cenozoic, huh? Then the Whiskey Bridge site may be just the thing you need. LOTS of Eocene shells are found there and the matrix they're in is fairly plentiful and the fossils are abundant. It has the added advantage of not being TOO far from you to make a collecting trip worthwhile.

-Joe

Illigitimati non carborundum

Fruitbat's PDF Library

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The seminars that I have put on. we used "salted" material. Sand with fossils of various types. I also threw in some very rough "arowheads" that had no provenance, and also some loose change, petrified wood chunks are also always appreciated. The younger kids love it. Frankly, if you are wanting to maintain a "dig" that is always open, that would be the way to go. You can buy bulk sharks teeth for almost nothing to throw into the mix, and what kid doesn't love a shark tooth?

If you are wanting to gather data, maybe host a mini-paleo camp. Charge a modest fee, and use it to buy the material. Another potential and often overlooked source are teachers. There is a big business in professional development, and you could host such an event, worked through your local university for college credit, and once again charge a modest fee to defray costs.

Good luck with your endeavor.

Brent Ashcraft

ashcraft, brent allen

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