Valentine’s Day Challenge

March 18th, 2019 by

By Jennifer Bauer and Mary Jane Hughes     For this year’s Valentine’s Day, the FOSSIL Project’s social media team held a competition to see who could produce a Valentine that garnered the broadest reach and highest engagement on our social media platforms (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram). The social media team includes Sam Ocon, Mary Jane […]

Research: Megalodon Evolution along the Calvert Cliffs of Maryland

March 18th, 2019 by

By Victor Perez, Florida Museum of Natural History At the early age of 6, I visited the Calvert Marine Museum in Solomons, Maryland and received my first shark tooth from their “Discovery Room” exhibit. The staff at the exhibit told me I could find my own shark teeth along the beaches in the nearby Calvert […]

Paleoart: Raven Amos

March 18th, 2019 by

Raven Amos is a digital artist and illustrator living, working, and playing in the wilds of Alaska. Born in the era of far flung fantasy films and cheesy animation, Amos developed a love of reading, art, and dinosaurs at a very young age. She spent the majority of her primary education expanding her artistic talents […]

Education: Thinking Outside the (Specimen) Box

March 18th, 2019 by

By Jess Miller-Camp, Paleontology Collections Manager, Indiana University The Indiana Geological & Water Survey (IGWS) and Indiana University Paleontology Collection (IUPC) held an all-day workshop on March 9th in Bloomington, Indiana on digital paleontology for educators and avocational paleontologists. The workshop was free to all attendees, having been fully funded as part of IUPC’s Paleoniches […]

The Paleo Primer Series: Bringing Local Prehistory to the Public

March 18th, 2019 by

By Becky Barnes, North Dakota Geological Survey Editor’s note: Becky Barnes was hired by the North Dakota Geological Survey in 2008 as the Johnsrud Paleontology Laboratory manager.  Her summers are spent working at various fossil sites across North Dakota.  Her winters are split between restoring fossils in the lab, managing the volunteer program, illustrating, and […]

Featured Professional: Steven Manchester

March 18th, 2019 by

Editor’s note: This issue we feature Steven Manchester, Curator of Paleobotany at the Florida Museum of Natural History and Affiliate Professor in the Departments of Biology and Geology at the University of Florida.  Steven has been in the news recently because of his discovery of Central America’s oldest marine mammal, but he has a long-standing […]

Amateur Spotlight: Linda McCall

March 18th, 2019 by

This issue, Jennifer Bauer interviews Linda McCall. Linda serves on Paleontological Society’s Ad Hoc Committee on Government Affairs and the myFOSSIL Steering Committee. Linda is a member of numerous fossil organizations. Tell us a little about yourself. Thank you for this opportunity. I am an avocational paleontologist first and foremost but have always been a […]

FOSSIL Project Updates Winter 2018

December 19th, 2018 by

By Jen Bauer & Sadie Mills Geological Society of America and Dry Dredgers  The annual meeting of the Geological Society of America (GSA) was hosted in Indianapolis, Indiana this year. The FOSSIL Project teamed up with the Cincinnati Dry Dredgers to host a booth in the exhibition hall. Together FOSSIL team members and Dry Dredgers shared […]

Research: Ecosystem impacts in the Ordovician due to species migration

December 19th, 2018 by

Contrasting ecosystem impacts of biotic invasions in the Type Cincinnatian Series (Late Ordovician, Katian) by Alycia L. Stigall and Ron Fine  Article summarized by Jen Bauer. Dr. Alycia Stigall is a professor at Ohio University and Mr. Ron Fine is an avocational paleontologist associated with the Dry Dredgers. From the authors: This project is an excellent […]

Education: Pedagogy and Technology in the Modern Paleontology Classroom

December 19th, 2018 by

By Jen Bauer & Jeanette Pirlo  Every year there are special short courses, or one-day programs at the annual Geological Society of America (GSA) meeting, surrounding a topic in paleontology. This year the workshop centered on incorporating new pedagogy (practice of teaching) and technology into the classroom (click here for advertisement). The program was set up where […]