Taking off the collector hat and putting on the educator hat

[fossilsonwheels]

After spending the summer being more of a collector than an educator, it is time to get into educator mode. We had a good run in the spring and surpassed our own expectations. Carter and I set a big goal for this year. We want to triple the 700+ students we provided fossil education for last year. 2100 students is the goal for this year. It is going to take a lot of work but we are up to the challenge. We are already booking programs in Chico and we are starting to get some interest from schools in Fresno, Sacramento and Redding. We may end up traveling quite a bit more than anticipated this year. All of the programs we have on the schedule right now are from schools we did not get to last year too which seems a good omen.

 

We are going to do 5th and possibly 6th grade programs this year in addition to the 2nd-4th programs. We added an Intro to Fossils program for the 2nd graders and the 5th grade program will feature some Miocene marine mammal material which I am super excited about. I think the bulk of the programs will be Dinosaurs but I am going to really push sharks this year too. We got our new displays done and added some really cool fossils to show the kids. I think the science is stronger this year as I really studied pretty hard. I even did some work on the Facebook page which I totally neglected last year lol

 

I can not say we will give away fossils to all of the kids this year but we did restart the fossil give away program this year too. Right now we have about 200 shark teeth to give away so we know the first few programs will be covered. I should be able to pick up 100 or so more shark teeth in early October. We will do our best to get fossils to as many kids as we can and I hope surpass the 700 mark again this year however we made sure to tell teachers it is a first come first serve part of the program.

 

The best part of the season will be working with my son all the time. He is out of high school and ready to work. The art is coming along and we will be razor sharp with the presentation material.

I will not be around on TFF much so no more bad shark identifications lol but I will get updating our progress throughout the year including pictures ( we will have release forms !). I will not be adding more fossils except for give away stuff until December at the earliest so the collector in me is going to be sitting on the sidelines. That is okay because it is time to work

 

We want to once again thank all of our friends on the forum who have contributed to Fossils on Wheels. You have all made this a much better organization and we would not be doing this again without the support we have gotten.

 

[digit]

Good luck with the kidos! If there is someone available (maybe the class teacher) to grab your smart phone and snap some photos of you and the information sponges during your presentation, we'd love to see photos here. Let us know if you are in need of additional fossils to distribute and what kinds (and sizes) you are looking for.

 

 

Cheers.

 

-Ken

[Fossildude19]

Best of luck on a new semester of public outreach! 

You have no idea what impact you will have on some of these kids.   

Have fun, and good luck!   

 

[fossilsonwheels]

5 hours ago, digit said:

Good luck with the kidos! If there is someone available (maybe the class teacher) to grab your smart phone and snap some photos of you and the information sponges during your presentation, we'd love to see photos here. Let us know if you are in need of additional fossils to distribute and what kinds (and sizes) you are looking for.

 

 

Cheers.

 

-Ken

Thank you Ken. I saw your message and will respond after work this afternoon. With both my son and myself in the class this year plus photo release forms, we should be able to get pictures this year !

 

Kurt

[fossilsonwheels]

4 hours ago, Fossildude19 said:

Best of luck on a new semester of public outreach! 

You have no idea what impact you will have on some of these kids.   

Have fun, and good luck!   

 

Thank you very much Tim. We just got a message about a traveling program for 250 students and that could become 500 so we are starting to get rolling

 

[Pagurus]

Congratulations on the success of your programs! As Tim mentioned, even a short visit to a classroom can have a valuable and sometimes surprising impact on the kids you meet. Even as adults, I'll bet some of those kids will remember you and your fossils. After thirty years of doing programs similar to yours (with marine animals rather than fossils) I cherish those stories. Enjoy the journey. It must be wonderful working with, and mentoring, your son. Well done.

Mike

[fossilsonwheels]

3 hours ago, Pagurus said:

Congratulations on the success of your programs! As Tim mentioned, even a short visit to a classroom can have a valuable and sometimes surprising impact on the kids you meet. Even as adults, I'll bet some of those kids will remember you and your fossils. After thirty years of doing programs similar to yours (with marine animals rather than fossils) I cherish those stories. Enjoy the journey. It must be wonderful working with, and mentoring, your son. Well done.

Mike

Thank you very much Mike ! I hope they do remember the fossils and I hope a few of them consider a career in it. This year we are also talking about the conservation of extant critters with our programs which was a huge part of my biology career prior to a back injury. I love the idea of combining different things and related the past with the present so hopefully we can have a better future !

 

Kurt

[FossilNerd]

This is awesome! Getting kids engaged is so important!

 

I know you mentioned that you are focusing on dino’s, shark, and marine mammals this year, but if you ever need some fossils to give away to the kiddos I’d be glad to help out with some common finds in my area. Crinoids, brachiopods, bryozoan, and the like. Just PM me and let me know.  

[fossilsonwheels]

2 hours ago, FossilNerd said:

This is awesome! Getting kids engaged is so important!

 

I know you mentioned that you are focusing on dino’s, shark, and marine mammals this year, but if you ever need some fossils to give away to the kiddos I’d be glad to help out with some common finds in my area. Crinoids, brachiopods, bryozoan, and the like. Just PM me and let me know.  

Thank you Wayne. I will send you a PM for sure as we love having any kind of fossil to give to the kids