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An opportunity for TFF members to help us create better programs


fossilsonwheels

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We had two really great Dinosaur programs this week. We have two more Dino programs and a shark program next week too so things are rolling along very nicely for us. I did notice this week that we are missing out on an opportunity to give a broader picture of the paleoecology of the dinosaur era. The kids yesterday wanted to see Pterosaur and marine reptile fossils. We had a chance to really explain the difference between those reptiles and dinosaurs because we have yet to acquire those fossils.

 

I wanted to open this topic to TFF members because I respect the knowledge of fossils and the animals that left the fossils behind that our friends have. We need to round out our programs and I need to begin learning more about dinosaur age animals that were not dinosaurs. We do have croc teeth that will start going with us and I am putting together a display of dinosaur era shark teeth to keep in the dino program bin. Now that I have a better handle on how much material we can fit into an hour long program, I can tighten up the program and find a few minutes to cover non dinosaurs.

 

This is where we need your help. I want to know what critters from the age of dinosaurs you think we should be touching on. What animals do I need to start looking into getting fossil representatives from and what critters do i need to study ?

 

I thought it might be really fun to get the opinions of our friends and have the great minds here contribute to the material cover. This is open to all forum members so give us your thoughts and knowledge. Help us further our education goals by creating a more well rounded program !

 

 

 

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In the Hell Creek Fm the non dinossur critters that I run into are turtle, crocodiles, champsosaurus, fish and mammals  

Turtle material is common and so is Crocodile.    Mammals are a good discussion because they led humans headed up by Didelphodon one of the bigger marsupial in this fauna.  Lots of fish in the streams, gar amd myledaphus (ray) teeth are around.  Pterosaurs are cool for kids and teeth from the Kem Kem beds are plentiful and cheap.  

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Agree with what Troodon said. Fish, croc and pterosaur teeth are plentifull in the Kem Kem Beds. Just remember that it's difficult to tell Croc teeth apart between certain species and pterosaur teeth from there are so far impossible to determine down to species or genus level.  

 

For the marine reptile teeth (Mosasaur and Plesiosaur): They are plentifull in the phosphate mines around Khouribga. Plesiosaur teeth are Zarafasaura oceanis,  Mosasaurs are a bit more difficult to ID.  You can also cheaply obtain shark teeth from there (e.g. Squalicorax). 

 

Hope this helps:)

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8 minutes ago, Troodon said:

In the Hell Creek Fm the non dinossur critters that I run into are turtle, crocodiles, champosaurus, fish and mammals  

Turtle material is common and so is Crocodile.    Mammals are a good discussion because they led humans headed up by Didelphodon one of the bigger marsupial in this fauna.  Lots of fish in the streams, gar amd myledaphus (ray) teeth are around.  Pterosaurs are cool for kids and teeth from the Kem Kem beds are plentiful and cheap.  

I bought a Kem Kem pterosaur tooth on online right after the program yesterday lol  i knew that is one we would need to get eventually.

Didelphodon would be very interesting. I did not know it was a marsupial. We have some Kem Kem ray stuff that I will put in the shark display. I studied pond turtles so picking up some turtle stuff is another great idea. I got so wrapped in the dinosaurs, I kind of forgot about the other critters. Great suggestions Frank :)

 

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3 minutes ago, gigantoraptor said:

Agree with what Troodon said. Fish, croc and pterosaur teeth are plentifull in the Kem Kem Beds. Just remember that it's difficult to tell Croc teeth apart between certain species and pterosaur teeth from there are so far impossible to determine down to species or genus level.  

 

For the marine reptile teeth (Mosasaur and Plesiosaur): They are plentifull in the phosphate mines around Khouribga. Plesiosaur teeth are Zarafasaura oceanis,  Mosasaurs are a bit more difficult to ID.  You can also cheaply obtain shark teeth from there (e.g. Squalicorax). 

 

Hope this helps:)

Awesome suggestions. We are going to pick up some marine reptile material for sure. I am going to get an Icthyosaur fossil because I went to a prep lab recently for a specimen found not too far from where we live so that will make a local connection with the kids. Kids asked about Pleiosaurs yesterday so that is a great one to add too. Mosasaur teeth are quite a bargain from Morocco so that is one I know we can add. We have quite a bit of shark material but it just occured to me that we are absent any sawfish stuff so that is probably a good one too. Thank you very much !

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You can use the oceans of Kansas as a theme. There's so many awesome critters there - mosasaurs, plesiosaurs, sea turtles, polycotylids, sharks, xiphactinus, giant squid, pteranodons etc

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Looking forward to meeting my fellow Singaporean collectors! Do PM me if you are a Singaporean, or an overseas fossil-collector coming here for a holiday!

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Back to dinosaurs for the moment.  Have you at all considered replicas to round off your programs.  Lots of good companies out with pretty realistic replicas at very reasonable prices.  The students would not be able to tell the difference.

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36 minutes ago, -Andy- said:

You can use the oceans of Kansas as a theme. There's so many awesome critters there - mosasaurs, plesiosaurs, sea turtles, polycotylids, sharks, xiphactinus, giant squid, pteranodons etc

We have some Ptychodus teeth and a Cretoxyrhina from Kansas so i like that idea Andy. Great suggestion. We may have to investigate a Kansas marine reptile tooth.

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35 minutes ago, Troodon said:

Back to dinosaurs for the moment.  Have you at all considered replicas to round off your programs.  Lots of good companies out with pretty realistic replicas at very reasonable prices.  The students would not be able to tell the difference.

Yes I have considered it for two specific items, a large Rex tooth and a dromie sickle claw. Even partial claws are out of our price range and Rex material is what it is. I gav eup on claws after about 15 minutes of looking at prices lol I think we can keep 99% of the programs to actual fossils but those two are going to be replicas. I am not giving up on actual Allosaur fossil though I have seen replicas. Great suggestion :)

 

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@fossilsonwheels Consider showing the kids what other non vertebrate fossils can be found during the time of the dinosaurs. Show them fossils that represented ecosystems that existed in the dino’s time. Most of the fossils found are marine invertebrates and land plants. Show them plant fossils of species eaten by dinosaurs. Show them the ammonites, clams and oysters eaten by the vertebrates. I remember in Texas collecting Ptychodus shark teeth alongside the clams and oysters that they probably ate. Show them the end product of their feasting: coprolites. 

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My goal is to leave no stone or fossil unturned.   

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What about insects or birds? A nice piece of Cretaceous amber with a bug would be an impressive addition, especially if you have a microscope the kids can look a it through. I don't know what bird material might be available, but there are certainly pictures.

 

And don't forget the plants. Angiosperms made their first appearances during this time, so you could have fossil leaves that are very similar to modern species! :D

 

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1 hour ago, Mediospirifer said:

What about insects or birds? A nice piece of Cretaceous amber with a bug would be an impressive addition, especially if you have a microscope the kids can look a it through. I don't know what bird material might be available, but there are certainly pictures.

 

And don't forget the plants. Angiosperms made their first appearances during this time, so you could have fossil leaves that are very similar to modern species! :D

 

We have , or will have when it finally arrives, an Avisaurus tooth so we can cover birds. I know bird material from that time is extremely hard to find but I do hope to track more down. It is a big part of our presentation actually. I have a few plant fossils we just have not been taking them into classrooms. Insects area  great one. Thank you for the suggestions.

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1 hour ago, DPS Ammonite said:

@fossilsonwheels Consider showing the kids what other non vertebrate fossils can be found during the time of the dinosaurs. Show them fossils that represented ecosystems that existed in the dino’s time. Most of the fossils found are marine invertebrates and land plants. Show them plant fossils of species eaten by dinosaurs. Show them the ammonites, clams and oysters eaten by the vertebrates. I remember in Texas collecting Ptychodus shark teeth alongside the clams and oysters that they probably ate. Show them the end product of their feasting: coprolites. 

I love it. We have a few examples to bring with us. Excellent suggestions !

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Please PM the OP with any specific seller suggestions or ad copy.  Thanks.  ;)  

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

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8 hours ago, Troodon said:

Back to dinosaurs for the moment.  Have you at all considered replicas to round off your programs.  Lots of good companies out with pretty realistic replicas at very reasonable prices.  The students would not be able to tell the difference.


I hope the people he talks to are less materialistic than the ones in Asia. I've had a kid literally slam my Allosaurus skull on the table in disgust after I told him it's a replica(he asked), another time I had adults give me the cold shoulder, and I've had a school tell me: real fossils only.

 

It's why these days I only use real fossils. I can't count the number of times I've had disinterested audience turn excited when I told them all the fossils on display are real.

Looking forward to meeting my fellow Singaporean collectors! Do PM me if you are a Singaporean, or an overseas fossil-collector coming here for a holiday!

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Some good recommendations have been posted in this thread.  Another idea for a relatively inexpensive dinosaur fossil could be a dinosaur track?  I am sure a visible one would encapture any child's interest :) 

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33 minutes ago, -Andy- said:


I hope the people he talks to are less materialistic than the ones in Asia. I've had a kid literally slam my Allosaurus skull on the table in disgust after I told him it's a replica(he asked), another time I had adults give me the cold shoulder, and I've had a school tell me: real fossils only.

 

It's why these days I only use real fossils. I can't count the number of times I've had disinterested audience turn excited when I told them all the fossils on display are real.

Well most of what you see in museums are replicas

 

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20 minutes ago, Troodon said:

Well most of what you see in museums are replicas

 

 

That is true. I guess Singaporeans are just more materialistic. We have few dinosaurs in our museums but they are all real, the museum practically shoves that in our faces. When the dinosaur is too fragile to be displayed in full, they mount a replica skull on the skeleton... and they have a case beside showing the real skull.

Looking forward to meeting my fellow Singaporean collectors! Do PM me if you are a Singaporean, or an overseas fossil-collector coming here for a holiday!

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3 hours ago, -Andy- said:


I hope the people he talks to are less materialistic than the ones in Asia. I've had a kid literally slam my Allosaurus skull on the table in disgust after I told him it's a replica(he asked), another time I had adults give me the cold shoulder, and I've had a school tell me: real fossils only.

 

It's why these days I only use real fossils. I can't count the number of times I've had disinterested audience turn excited when I told them all the fossils on display are real.

For now, we only use real fossils so it is not an issue. We may pick up a replica or two and if we do we will tell the kids why we are using replicas. There is not a realistic way for us to get a real fossil of a large Rex tooth or dromie sickle claw so it may be an option so we can at least show the kids what those looked like. I will cross that bridge when we come to it.

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2 hours ago, Runner64 said:

Some good recommendations have been posted in this thread.  Another idea for a relatively inexpensive dinosaur fossil could be a dinosaur track?  I am sure a visible one would encapture any child's interest :) 

We have thought about that for sure. Egg shells too. We were single minded in making sure we had certain dinosaurs to cover first before we expanded and now may be the time to think tracks ! Excellent suggestion.

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I wonder what amphibian fossils from that era would be available within your budget? 

 

Do you have dioramas? I can imagine a few different ecosystem dioramas, of different scales: a life-sized model of a forest floor with small critters; a scale model with larger (but not massive) critters, and a scale model of the giants, all with appropriate vegetation. 

 

Just a thought...

 

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I just wanted to add @Mediospirifer great ideas. There are plenty of cool toys that span a good range of prehistoric history that can be purchased very cheaply. They could be also repainted to look even better.I also would take in some books for the kids to look at after your talk (I think this is very important). Include other fossils  into your presentation like ammonite, trilobites , other sea creatures, plant material and mammals. Talk about “living fossil” .

 

Have you thought about leaving an education pack of work sheets   (fun tasks like drawing, quizzes ,  incredible facts and cover literacy with keywords that related prehistoric history or timelines ) to help a Teachers to deliver a follow up lessons and also to be give out as homework (this can also get the parents involved too)I think this could add even more to your educational product. 

 

Also you could hand out A4 sheet full of facts on local formations, tips in find fossils, how to be safe when fossil collecting and other ethical information. What fossil can be found, again this maybe will encourage the moms ,dads or teacher to get involved and do some field trips.

 

You are doing a grand job all the best Bobby 

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On 4/10/2019 at 11:21 PM, Mediospirifer said:

I wonder what amphibian fossils from that era would be available within your budget? 

 

Do you have dioramas? I can imagine a few different ecosystem dioramas, of different scales: a life-sized model of a forest floor with small critters; a scale model with larger (but not massive) critters, and a scale model of the giants, all with appropriate vegetation. 

 

Just a thought...

 

That is a good idea. I have will have to think about that. I am eventually going to get amphibian fossils from the Triassic and likely a Pelycosaur of some sort. We would like to touch on Amphibians for sure.

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On 4/11/2019 at 12:59 AM, Bobby Rico said:

I just wanted to add @Mediospirifer great ideas. There are plenty of cool toys that span a good range of prehistoric history that can be purchased very cheaply. They could be also repainted to look even better.I also would take in some books for the kids to look at after your talk (I think this is very important). Include other fossils  into your presentation like ammonite, trilobites , other sea creatures, plant material and mammals. Talk about “living fossil” .

 

Have you thought about leaving an education pack of work sheets   (fun tasks like drawing, quizzes ,  incredible facts and cover literacy with keywords that related prehistoric history or timelines ) to help a Teachers to deliver a follow up lessons and also to be give out as homework (this can also get the parents involved too)I think this could add even more to your educational product. 

 

Also you could hand out A4 sheet full of facts on local formations, tips in find fossils, how to be safe when fossil collecting and other ethical information. What fossil can be found, again this maybe will encourage the moms ,dads or teacher to get involved and do some field trips.

 

You are doing a grand job all the best Bobby 

3E5A10C8-2C11-446B-9DF9-3F830AECADAA.jpeg

 

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We will have more comprehensive material for teachers next year. That is part of the plan. We got way busier actually doing programs this spring and I have not had a chance to work on materials that would be used pre and post class visit. Great suggestions

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