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Kids Club Micro-Fossil Hunt!


FossilDudeCO

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So I didn't know where to post this, but figured fossil hunting trips would be a good spot since the kids were doing an indoor fossil hunt!

 

Today I did my annual class for the Western Interior Paleontological Society (WIPS) Kids Club. It is always a hit, but due to scheduling I was unable to make the February class and did this one in May. May tends to be a smaller group because of the nice weather and vacations, but we still had a great time! The adults even wanted to get in on this activity and I was more than happy to help!

 

The worst thing that happened was I forgot to take lots of pictures!

 

I took (2) 5 gallon buckets of matrix, one bucket from Peace River, FL and the second bucket from Aurora, NC.

I talked to the kids about how fossils in different locations can be similar (ie. shark teeth!) and we explained the importance of labeling your finds!

 

Each person was given (1) 5-ounce cup of matrix from Peace River, and (1) 5-ounce cup of matrix from Aurora. We set up microscopes and laptops an allowed the kids to photograph their 5 favourite finds. We set out books, posters, and print outs to help with the identification part. They then loaded these photos on to a USB and have some very nice detailed photos to take home with all of their finds. That's right, I let them keep EVERYTHING! One kid found a cookie cutter tooth, full root and all! I don't even have one in my collection yet!

 

Aside from keeping everything they found I made sure to send each kid home with a small 125mL bag of each matrix, and 5 various fossils from my Peace River hunting trips ((3) 25mm+ shark teeth, a dugong rib, and a turtle piece.)

 

I shared with them my preferred methods of hunting and encouraged them to try their own!

 

All in all it was a great day with lots of very nice finds!

 

Thanks again to @Sacha for sending me Peace River matrix for my classes!

 

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Well done Blake.   :fistbump:
You may very well be starting one of these kids down the road to paleontology!   :D 

 

    Tim    -  VETERAN SHALE SPLITTER

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I am really hoping that maybe next summer we can work out a field trip to Kemmerer for some fish fossils ;) 

I really enjoy sharing my knowledge with the kids and I can't wait for June 10th when I have my table for World Oceans Day and I can share all the cool things I have gathered from fellow forum members!

 

It is funny to think that when I first started collecting fossils just a few years ago I didn't have much interest in sharks teeth, but now I am sharing my knowledge with others! I am still nowhere as good at shark teeth as some of our members, but what little I do know seems to be ok with most people!

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@FossilDudeCO

 

Well done, Blake!  I wish I had known about fossil-collecting when I was a kid - just think about how many fossils I could have accumulated by now...!!! :P  I'm sure that those kids were over the moon searching for and finding their own micro-fossils!!!

 

By the way - do you need any more specimens for your table on June 10th?  I have a bunch of horn corals from my trip to Hungry Hollow a few weeks back, many partial Mucrospirifer arkonensis brachiopods, and some small hash plates containing Tentaculites sp. - just let me know if you're still looking for stuff to populate your table... (Also - if you need/want some small horn corals to give out as "prizes" then please just let me know!)

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Very well done, the kids must of had a blast and learned tons about fossil collecting.  Wish I had that opportunity.  

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@Sacha Thank you sir! 

@Monica I have been slacking on my June 10th table, I have so much stuff to go through, TFF members were way to generous as usual! I am trying not to do giveawayas at this event as we expect about 500 people. I do have a box of moroccan shark teeth I may break into though ;)

@Troodon I was excited that even the adults jumped in and learned a little something! This class is always a hit (this was my 3rd year) and they asked me if I could do it twice a year now!

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Well done, Blake! It feels good to see all those excited faces, doesn't it? It's great that you had laptops and microscopes for the kids to use too, and even take photographs to bring home on the USBs. I know you put a lot of effort into making the class a huge success, even for the adults! Thanks for posting it here. I'm sure your table at the World Oceans Day event will be a huge hit too. 

Start the day with a smile and get it over with.

 

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Great stuff Blake. I did one at my daughter Violet's school for 8 year olds, it was a blast. I didn't take pictures but the kids did and I was given a lovely card signed by all the kids and a fossil they made. The fossil was a shell impression in clay. It's super cool and is in one of my cabinets. Must write a report myself!

 

Your parcel goes out tomorrow, hope you like the contents! 

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Must be a good class if they keep calling you back...good work, sir...kudos. :fistbump:

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Well done, Blake!

 

You can be forgiven for not photo documenting this event as I'm sure you had your hands busy running the logistics. The one photo above gives us a feel for what this event was like. Hope this does become a twice-yearly (or more) event as it looks like it was well received.

 

Your fossil karma at letting an Aurora Isistius (Cookiecutter Shark) tooth slip through your fingers and into the nascent collection of a budding fossil enthusiast will hopefully be well rewarded in the future. I've been doing research on Isistius and, from what little I know, Isistius with decent roots are a bit of a rarity in the Aurora micro-matrix. I suspect they are slightly more common than currently known as I'm thinking that not as many people inspect the Aurora material down to the scale needed to see these tiny and delicate teeth. I hope you let the finder of that Isistius know they found something truly special that not a lot of fossil hunters have in their collection (including yourself). I'm currently tapped out of Cookiecutter Creek micro-matrix from that magical little location here in Florida but possibly @jcbshark might be coaxed into sending some your way if he has any in stock.

 

Cheers.

 

-Ken

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Awesome Blake. That cookie cutter wasn't from the Lee Creek matrix i sent was it? Great to see those kids having a great time with fossils.

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I hope it was from the Lee Creek. They are uncommonly known from that locality. If it was from micro-matrix from the Peace River that would be without precedent. So far (after a fair bit of research) Isistius teeth are only known (in Florida) from Cookiecutter Creek. They are unusual little teeth and quite the treat when they show up while searching micro-matrix.

 

Cheers.

 

-Ken

 

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2 hours ago, sixgill pete said:

Awesome Blake. That cookie cutter wasn't from the Lee Creek matrix i sent was it? Great to see those kids having a great time with fossils.

Nope not yours, I bought some off of an auction site a couple months in advance of this class!

 

@digit I made sure he had an individual tag for that cookie cutter tooth ;)

I don't know that he fully understood how rare it was, but I made sure to let his mother know to keep it some place safe!

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That is really cool. Thanks for sharing!

 

I am in the midst of planning a National Fossil Day event for Delaware Nature Society that will be similar in some ways. Last year we had a trip to the C and D Canal, but the canal is not a place most people want to take small children. The weeds are really tall in the fall. Easy to lose short people! So, we are having some more accessible activities at our Visitor Center for those who can't go out and do the real thing. Going to have a sandbox for sifting with the 5-gallon buckets full of stuff I've collected, plus an identification display to figure out what they have, label it and take it (them) home. Also going to have some clay out and go for walks to find interesting modern things to make casts. We'll probably have some other things around to examine with magnifying glasses and fingers that are more unique, like a large chunk of local petrified wood.  Your microscope idea might be useful. We have field scopes. I may have to ask to pull them out for the event, or maybe the field trip!

 

We really ought to have some kind of events forum for things like this to share ideas!

I refuse to give up my childish wonder at the world.

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@I_gotta_rock I love the idea of an "Events forum"

Maybe @Cris can weigh in?

 

My museum has 5 big event days a year not to mention all the other stuff, plus the stuff I do on my own!

 

Might be kind of fun to see what others do and share those ideas!

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