Fossils are the remains of plants or animals or their tracks and traces which are preserved in sedimentary rock. They provide scientists with evidence about the history of life on earth. Fossils come in all forms and sizes. They can range in size from the tiniest pollen grain to the largest dinosaur.
Covering specimens from the earliest life-forms to advanced invertebrates and vertebrates alike, this workshop focuses on the origin of the fossil record as well as the various methods of fossilization, and an introduction to fossil collecting in Maryland and surrounding states.
Geology and geologic timescales will be covered including what fossils originated, diverged and went extinct in what periods. You will get to examine sample fossils from major groups, both vertebrate and invertebrate, learn about ethical collecting, including resources to help you find where, how and when to collect, how to identify, preserve and display what you find, and how to connect with other collectors. With a new vocabulary and basic understanding of the subject, You will begin to “think and talk like a palaeontologist” and try to work out what these fossil clues tell us about past life.
NOTE Feel free to bring in your own personal fossils for help in identification…
Appropriate for ages 12 and up.
Presented by the NHSM Fossil Club.
