Check with the Western Science Center in Hemet, CA. They have a  
participatory fossil installation in their permanent Discovery Lab  exhibit which 
employs tools manipulated under Plexiglas.  No  mess.  I thought it was 
effective, and enjoyed "playing" with the exhibit  myself! Because you need to 
manipulate the tools (sort of like foosball) it  takes more concentration and 
consideration than just picking up a brush and  uncovering the hidden fossil, 
so it felt a bit more painstaking like a real dig  site. 
_http://www.westerncentermuseum.org_ (http://www.westerncentermuseum.org) 
 
Best of luck with your project Jenny!
 
Carola Enriquez
Museum Mentor
_www.museummentor.com_ (http://www.museummentor.com) 
 
 
In a message dated 9/1/2010 8:35:39 A.M. Pacific Daylight Time,  
[log in to unmask] writes:

I am  putting together, for the first time, an environment that represents 
Southern  Indiana during the Mississippian Time period for children to 
understand the  natural environment.  In conjunction, create a fossil hunt area 
to find  the plants and animals that would have existed in this time period.  
 

Specifically, I would like to know more about the use of sand or  similar 
material for visitors to "dig" into to find fossils.  I do not  prefer to use 
sand due to the possible mess it could make, is there any other  
recommendations?  

I am in the very beginning stages of this  project and if anyone has any 
advice related to what to do and what to avoid  would be very helpful.  

Looking forward to your responses!   

Jenny Mack
Exhibits Developer
Monroe County History  Center
202 E. 6th St.
Bloomington, IN  47408
812-332-2517
http://monroehistory.org/  

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