Georgia on my mind.

I was asked by a friend of mine to make some casts for an interactive exhibit at his museum. Since it was for school children, I could'nt say no. It should come as no suprise that the members of Black River Fossils are active participants in educating the public on earths history through fossils. From school lectures, fossil club displays, field trips and more we do our part in teaching people to enjoy, and respect, our natural resources. One of the things I enjoy is making casts of fossils for museums and educational centers. There are many rare fossils that would never be seen by the public if it weren't for casts. Scientifically important specimens are normally kept locked away unless they are being studied. Casts allow us to see these item up close. Many of the items I've been asked to cast over the years have been fragile holotypes. I've developed several new processes that allow me to get extremely good detail, without damaging the originals. Once the item is cast it then gets painted to match the original. This can get tricky since most fossils have a number of colors and shades that must be matched. The color is directly related to the type of material the fossil was found in. It can tell a lot about the formation and age of the item. An experienced collector can easily identify what age a fossil is when digging in a lag deposit or collecting in a river. Each fossil has a distictive look about it because of the layer it came from. An exception would be items that have been washed into rivers and turned black from the result of tanic acid exposure. While at the museum at Georgia Southern University I took a short tour to see the display of their 30 foot mososaur and the oldest whale from North America. Very impressive! Check them out at http://ceps.georgiasouthern.edu/museum/#