Classroom Paleontology

You too can bring real-life paleontology into your classroom. What's even better? Your students get to keep the fossils they find!

In 2018 I met a local paleontologist in Charleston, SC. I immediately knew I wanted my students to be able to meet him. In the fall of 2019, we were able to welcome this paleontologist to campus where he fully immersed my students in local geologic history and paleontology for two days. It was great! We started planning for next year's visit while he was still on campus! And then COVID... His business closed and the plans for our school year were up in the air. I started to get worried that we wouldn't be able to hold this on-campus field trip in 2020. We started school in person and luckily, our school population stayed healthy! In this crazy school year, we were still able to bring a paleontologist to campus and allow my students to complete an immersive experience to help them be excited about science! We had lots of procedures in place and made changes from the previous year to meet our strict COVID guidelines and luckily, it was even better!!

Ashby Gale owns Charleston Fossil Adventures and is a paleontologist located in Charleston, SC. His business focuses on fossil adventures, identification, and education. Thanks to Ashby's creative thinking, you can now bring a similar experience to your classroom! You can purchase unsearched, fossil-filled gravel from Charleston, SC. It is estimated that there are 200+ fossils per pound of gravel. The best part, your students can find 5+ fossils from just one spoonful of gravel. I know this because it's exactly what my students (and many staff members) did! 
Labs can be expensive, especially this year, but this lab is extremely affordable and your students get to keep what they find! In addition to the gravel matrix, when your purchase is complete you will get access to a private webpage that will help identify the majority of the fossils that can be found in the gravel. This webpage includes the name and a picture of various samples so you and your students can compare and identify your findings! 
Get your students excited about science! This lab can easily be completed virtually or in the classroom. I am currently teaching in-person students and virtual. My virtual students picked up materials- a spoonful of the gravel matrix in a ziplock bag, a paper plate, and a piece of printer paper to sort their findings on. These are the exact materials we used in the classroom too! A helpful, but completely optional, material would be a hand lens! 

Get your own fossil-filled sand here!

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