Singapore Fossils Collectors just got featured on TV news

[-Andy-]

Hi all. Remember that I said a local TV crew came over to my place to shoot videos of my fossils? The program was just shown on news yesterday! The main speaker with the black shirt is Calvin, who heads the Singapore Fossils Collectors, majority of the segment's on his incredible collection. I'm the speaker in gray, and everyone else are members of the SFC.

http://www.channel8news.sg/news8/ca/morningexpress/episodes/ca20160219-me-hobby/2529120.html

It's in Chinese, so I'll give a rough transcript.

0:00 - News Anchor: Remember Jurassic World? When it was released, it spurred interested worldwide in dinosaurs.

0:25 - News Anchor: So what did they looked like? How big were they? We can only understand these from their fossils.

0:45 - News Anchor: 38-year old Calvin has a room filled with fossils; there's marine life, dinosaurs, even poops!

1:03 - Calvin: I've been into fossils since 10. My mom bought me a trilobite, and it led me to realize there's a whole new world out there.

1:22 - News Anchor: 27-year old Andy's interest in dinosaurs spurred him to collect fossils.

1:37 - News Anchor: To share this interest, he authored a book, hoping to cultivate a love of fossils in children

1:50 - Andy: Boys love dinosaurs anyway. I've never lost my interest even in my 20s. Dinos are fasinating creatures. As we uncover fossils, we increase our knowledge of the natural world. E.g. what Earth was like, how animals of the past lived and hunted.

2:13 - News Anchor: Entering Andy's room, we realize he's put in quite an effort into displaying fossils.

2:18 - Andy: I protect my fossils from direct sunlight and elements with a cabinet. My dad and I customized this cabinet by sawing away the original wooden door, fixing on an acrylic, transparent door, and got an LED light strip which we installed inside.

2:44 - News Anchor: Calvin and Andy are part of a group called the Singapore Fossils Collectors. Besides sharing this hobby in the media, their group regularly meet, going to various members' houses.

2:59 - News Anchor: Calvin has stated this group allows him to meet fellow fossil lovers.

3:08 - Calvin: When young, this was a lonely hobby. Even as I collected, there was no one for me to share it with. Now with social media and SFC, we can learn from each other, trade, and improve our collections.

-Commercial Break-

3:47 - News Anchor: Whenever overseas, Calvin visits museums and fossil shops. It's estimated he has over 1000 fossils.

4:00 - Calvin: This is a plesiosaur paddle that's over 65 million years old. You can see its finger bones. This is a rare fossil I purchased from Spain.

4:20 - Calvin: Here's another special one. A segnosaur egg nest. I bought it in Hong Kong, though it's dug up from China. Chinese fossils these days can no longer be exported.

4:35 - Calvin: This is a dinosaur we see often from Hollywood. A fearsome Tyrannosaur dug up from Kazakhstan.

4:45 - Calvin: This is a sabretooth cat. It's much younger than dinosaurs. It was around when the first men were around, but we hunted them to extinction.

4:57 - News Anchor: Do you know fossils are formed, and how we know they are real?

5:10 - Calvin: Fossils are the remains of animals and plants. As they died, their remains are quickly buried, and over time and high pressure, turn into fossils. They must be buried quickly, say next to a river, or covered by volcano ash etc.

5:47 - Calvin: There are fossils sites near Singapore, such as Australia, Canada, America, China, Morocco, France, Thailand and even Malaysia, and trilobites in Vietnam.

6:18 - Calvin: Some shell fossils and teeth are common in Morocco, and thus can be cheap. Complete fossils, or famous ones you see in Hollywood movies usually cost far more.

6:45 - Calvin: For fossil authencity, we get it from reputable sellers. Next, we need to know its morphology, weight, texture. We can even tap on it to hear the sound. There are quick ways such as shining a UV light, or to poke them with a red-hot needle.

7:24 - Calvin: For maintaining fossils, they are generally rocks, so many are durable. Certain ones however, such as trilobites may get pyrite disease so I keep them in a special cabinet.

-Fossil segment ends-

Enjoy

Edited February 21, 2016 by -Andy-

[Runner64]

Awesome and congratulations! This is a great accomplishment of yours.

[fossilized6s]

Ha! Very cool!

[Raptor Lover]

Congrats Andy! Great collection!

[Ash]

Some impressive jaws in the background!

Congrats!

[Ludwigia]

Very commendable what you and your friends are able to bring about for the general public. Just goes to show what quality, enthusiasm and I'm assuming good connections can achieve.

[Welsh Wizard]

Andy

Very interesting.

That's a fantastic collection and it was a really well put together TV feature. Thanks for showing.

Nick

[Troodon]

Absolutely awesome, very well done and it's nice that you can get a copy of the broadcast. Looks like you have a very tight fossil community with lots of energy and great fossils. Thanks for sharing.

[Auspex]

Well done, Andy!

[Killclaw]

Always useful to have a Samurai sword handy in case anyone tries to mess with your fossil collection!

Sorry I couldn't take in the commentary but that dinosaur jaw collection particularly is top notch.