Well this may not be what you are after, but we used to do this at one of
the places I worked (related to archeology not paleontology). Also, this
was for registered visiting school group, so it was a guided activity. We
had casts of actual lithics, pottery shards and of course glass beads plus
some laminated card stock to represent harder to preserve items such as
leather and charcoal and "seeded" them in a mix of play sand, dry clay and
pea gravel. The result would, with a slight dampening, allow for layered
excavating. It worked well but it was messy, it was done in containers
outside under a shelter.
However, I remember (and this was at least 25 years ago) digging as a small
child at a sand table with "fossil" tracks, shells and plant matter molded
into the table. The effect was quite convincing; the table surface had a
grittiness like sandstone and the impressions were a few shades darker. The
sand was only an inch or so deep and the table was about 18 feet by 3 feet
against a wall that had images of the "fossils" you might find with stories
about what the item was, along with artists renditions of how the living
organism may have looked and their environment. Tons of large paint brushes
like you use on your house were scattered across the table. I enjoyed it
for what seemed hours and I still remember vividly how it looked. One of
the craft activities there was rolling real leaves into modeling clay, and
peeling them up to see what impressions they made, something that stayed
with me for a lifetime. It was one day in my childhood, but it is one I
recall quite clearly and it had a lasting effect.
Sarah
Jenny Mack
<[log in to unmask]
M> To
Sent by: Museum [log in to unmask]
discussion list cc
<[log in to unmask]
SE.LSOFT.COM> Subject
[MUSEUM-L] Fossil Hunt
09/01/2010 09:34
AM
Please respond to
Museum discussion
list
<[log in to unmask]
SE.LSOFT.COM>
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/
=========================================================
Important Subscriber Information:
The Museum-L FAQ file is located at
http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed
information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail
message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should
read "help" (without the quotes).
If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to
[log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff
Museum-L" (without the quotes).
=========================================================
Important Subscriber Information:
The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes).
If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes).
|
