First, there are the ones that collect because they think that what they have is worth big money. They are actually the only reason that any fossil is worth money. These are the guys that don't understand the importance of the really cool stuff to science, who polish shark teeth and ammonites because it makes them prettier and they'll sell for more despite taking away scientific value, and would rather hoard what they have instead of giving the things that need to be published on to a museum where such can be done. (A fossil in a private collection can never be published on because all scientists have to be able to confirm or deny a person's study, and there is no way to guarantee that when dealing with private.)
Then there are the ones with a child-like curiosity who realize that what they are holding is worth as much as a glorified rock and collect because they enjoy it. They bring things into museums to learn more about what they have and, once in a while when its something that would be worth the professional's time to study, they donate it so that such can be done. They take the time to learn the difference between what is worth donating and what is safe to keep, and just enjoy learning from the experience. Generally they are given credit and even a cast of their prize, and sometimes, if they leave it in the rock, they get to help with the full excavation.
See a difference?
The second type is part of what makes my job so amazing.
I did that a lot as a kid. I've still got a "fossilized egg" that I proudly took into the museum when I was really little to be identified, only to learn that it was an igneous rock. Well, I tried. I also grew up looking for shark teeth found in a mine in NC. No one seems to have a research interest in them, and shark have a ton of teeth. It is a great educational resource that we make use of in Fossil Club.
So anyway, because of that growing up, having the chance to help kids identify their own "treasures" is a really fun opportunity. And more than once, I've nailed one, which is always an exciting moment.
For example, the other day a kid brought in a weird shaped bone. I had never seen one like it before, except that one place I visit with the fossil club has the same bone from whales; the bone behind the ear. Reluctant to make the call, I called Rick over, and, sure enough, is was the very same bone but from a bison or a horse!!
Nailed it!
Another kid walked in with a bag full of colorful rocks. His mom shook her head, thinking that it was nonsense to ask, but I smiled and took the bag anyway. Most of them were igneous rocks that had washed into their stream, (after a long, long journey from... the rocky mountains, if I understand right) but he was still really excited at the thought that they may have come from a volcano!
Then today, a 14 year old aspiring geologist brought in a rock, knowing it wasn't a fossil, just to see what it was. Conglomerate, from an alluvial fan. She learned something new about deposition. Nice.
And, last but most certainly not the least today, we had a family come in with a bunch of weird stuff. One thing was a circular rock with a grove cared out and scratch marks. Looks like some sort of Native American grinding tool but I'm not an archaeologist. Then they had a bison bone, one that, based on a crack down the center of it longways, had likely been exposed to the surface for some time before it fossilized.
Then there were these things.
Honestly, they look like petrified banana peels. I know, that's completely wrong, but they do. After looking at them and seeing one that was more round and cracked open and had orange on the inside, I'm pretty sure they're petrified wood. These two would be bark, actually. The orange inside reminds me of what it looks like in the fossil record when bone or wood has time to rot a bit before it fossilizes (it basically turns into rust.) Unfortunately didn't get a picture of that one, but I haven't seen that since my Wyoming trip. I told the dad that they should follow the pieces up the hill that they are eroding out of and see if there is a bigger piece (maybe something a little more recognizable) up the hill. Rule of gravity! They said they were kind of hoping it was skin, but they still thought it was really cool. And it was :)
Between that, and teaching an elderly man about plate tectonics (which he had never hear of before) and seeing him light up when everything started to make sense, it a was a good day for science education.
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