Just a note to remind everyone that the SVP prep calendars are now available online!! They are only $20 (+ shipping) and all of the funds go into the pot for the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology Preparator's Grant! Its a great cause and a cool calendar to have hanging around your lab, office, or home. We had one in our lab last year and it was so popular that I ordered a new one for our lab today!
© ReBecca K. Hunt-Foster
Showing posts with label Preparation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Preparation. Show all posts
Thursday, January 6, 2011
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
4th Fossil Preparation and Collections Symposium & 9th Conference on Fossil Resources
Abstracts are due this Monday (January 10, 2011) for the 9th Conference on Fossil Resources and the 4th Fossil Preparation and Collections Symposium! Check out the details below:
9th Conference on Fossil Resources Registration form link
4th Fossil Preparation and Collections Symposium Registration Form Link
For more information on the 9th Conference on Fossil Resources visit the official site.
For more information on the 4th Fossil Preparation and Collections Symposium visit fossilprep.org.
© ReBecca K. Hunt-Foster
Preliminary Schedule :
9th Conference on Fossil Resources Registration form link
4th Fossil Preparation and Collections Symposium Registration Form Link
Held at the South Lincoln Training and Events Center in Kemmerer, Wyoming.
Suggestions for session topics are welcome. Please e-mail suggested topics to Arvid Aase by October 31, 2010.
Registration for each conference is $100. Attend both conferences for $160, a $40 savings (no coupon necessary).
Motel rooms will be scarce during spring of 2011 due to industrial projects in the Kemmerer area! Roommates are encouraged so enough rooms are available for all who want to attend. (Evanston is the next closest town at 45 miles away) Make reservations now!! Only 24 rooms remain in the host hotel as of Sept. 7, 2010 (April in Kemmerer = very cold camping)
Host motel is Best Western Fossil Country Inn Mention 'Fossil Conference' to receive $70 room rate. The block of 50 rooms will be held until February 26, 2010. 307-877-3388
Other motels are:
Antler Motel
307-877-4461
Energy Inn
307-877-6901
Fairview Motel
307-877-3938
Fossil Butte Motel
307-877-3996
Frontier Suites
307-877-3377
Contact Arvid for more information:
Fossil Butte National Monument
PO Box 592
864 Chicken Creek Road
Kemmerer, WY 83101
ph 307/877-4455
For more information on the 9th Conference on Fossil Resources visit the official site.
For more information on the 4th Fossil Preparation and Collections Symposium visit fossilprep.org.
© ReBecca K. Hunt-Foster
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Come chill in the Prep Lounge
This is a blog I am glad to see has finally arrived in the PaleoBlogoSphere - the Prep Lounge! Written by my friend Matt Brown, this is a blog that will be talking about working in a paleontology prep lab, and all of the fun things associated with that (and probably guns, trucks, and weather, but not politics). Check out some of his recent post on his new digs at the University of Texas at Austin/Texas Memorial Museum.
© ReBecca K. Hunt-Foster
Friday, June 5, 2009
Second Annual Fossil Preparation and Collections Symposium
I am currently in Casper, Wyoming, at the Tate Museum for the Second Annual Fossil Preparation and Collections Symposium. For a list of speakers and events click here [PDF here]. Hope to see many of you there!
© ReBecca K. Hunt-Foster, art © Russell Hawley
© ReBecca K. Hunt-Foster, art © Russell Hawley
Friday, April 10, 2009
Fieldwork Friday: After the field
*I am going on vacation for a little over a week. See you when I get back! Thanks for reading*
The museum has a great group of volunteers, who do many various task (picking micro verts under a microscope, screen washing, talking to museum patrons, working in the lab, preparing fossil, assisting with field work, making cast...). Our museum runs very smoothly thanks to the thousands of hours these individuals work every year. We had a "cataloging party" this week at work where the volunteers helped us catalog a backlog of fossils we have, so several of the pictures are of these great volunteers helping us out.
Some of the hundreds of fossils we cataloged this week during our party.
Thus far we have not collected anything large that requires preparation (or removing the fossil from its surrounding rock and stabilizing the remains). Most of the remains we have collected have been relatively small (that will change this summer), consisting of small isolated bone pieces and a few hundred trilobites. I though I would show a few of the trilobite specimens we collected in California and track their progress from the field to collections and study. Upon returning from the field, the trilobites are taken into our cataloging room where they are identified by our museum curator (to the species level if possible). During this process he will also take any measurements he may need from the specimen and make notes of these for his research.
Our museum curator identifying trilobites from the Marble Mountains (above) and measuring specimens for his research (below).
After the specimen has been identified it is given to me to enter into our museum database (we use the program Past Perfect).
In this database I enter as much information as I can, including:
- land collected from (BLM, Forest Service, Park Service, private...)
- catalog number
- object identification
- date and who entered the information
- the collector and date
- the identifier and date
- preparator and date (when it applies)
- any preservation methods (tools used; conservation materials, such as glues, used)
- Site name and locality number (we have a separate database for this information)
- description of the specimen
- taxonomic classification
- geological formation and age
- condition
- a photo
- any notes (as needed)
I then write out a specimen label for each item cataloged. These labels include the specimen number, identification, element, formation, age, locality and locality number. These labels are printed on acid free paper and are included with the specimen in the collections room.
Specimens are places in the appropriate size box (or glass vial), with a layer of ethafoam cut to the correct box size and placed under the specimen.
Specimens are places in the appropriate size box (or glass vial), with a layer of ethafoam cut to the correct box size and placed under the specimen.
Tom placing cut foam in boxes
When follow the methods of Davidson et al. 2006 (see the paper here) to label the actual specimens. The first step included putting down a small "stripe" on the specimen as a basecoat before writing, using Paraloid B-72 (a general-purpose thermoplastic acrylic resin), which is allowed to dry fully. If the specimen is light enough we write directly on this surface. If the specimen is darker, as many of our specimens are, we put a similar small "stripe" of w
hite acrylic paint on top of the B-72 basecoat.
Darrell painting labels on the Marble Mountain trilobites
When this is dry we write the specimen number onto the item. Davidson et al. suggest using a carbon based ink (reasons for avoiding dye based inks and other commercial pens/sharpies are discussed in further detail in the paper). An overcoat of B-72 is then placed over the specimen
number, to help with durability.
Kay writing a specimen number on a small trilobite (above) and a labeled specimen, below.
Photographs of the specimens are taken to enter into the database. Specimens are then moved from the cataloging room to our collections room where they are stored in steel Lane Cabinets and cabinets made by Steel Fixture (specialty built cases for geology and paleontology specimens). These specimens are now ready for anyone who would like to visit the collections to study the items. Superb items are put on display in the museum.
Example of a picture for the collections database. This specimen (a piece of turtle shell) was collected during Fieldwork Friday #1. 6043 is the specimen number.
© ReBecca K. Hunt-Foster
Friday, February 6, 2009
The Preparator
Greg Brown posted this great quote over on the 'Vertebrate Paleontology Preparation and Conservation' group on facebook (you should join), and I just had to share it with you all:
"This is from a review (written by Gilbert Stucker, 1977) of A. E. Rixon's prep manual...thought it was interesting and worth sharing:
"The trouble with fossils is that they are found encased in rock. An elaborate technology -- one might almost call it a 'mystique' -- has grown up around the need to remove this rock, while still preserving its contents. [Rixon] shares membership in that dedicated body of workers referred to facetiously by the late D. R. Barton as 'the Jimmy Valentines of Science' -- the middlemen through whose hands a petrification must normally pass before it can be properly evaluated as a scientific object. Known to the profession as 'preparators', their job specifications read like those of a jack-of-all-trades -- stonemason, prospector, expedition organizer, cook, mechanic, blacksmith, chemist, and, sometimes, artist. The work can be ardous and is usually of painstaking character, requiring infinite patience, skill, and a knowledge of animal osteology."
On a related note, don't forget about the Second Annual Fossil Preparation and Collections Symposium* which will be held this year at the Tate Museum on Friday, June 5th (2009). Start making your plans!
*previous blog post on the meeting
"This is from a review (written by Gilbert Stucker, 1977) of A. E. Rixon's prep manual...thought it was interesting and worth sharing:
"The trouble with fossils is that they are found encased in rock. An elaborate technology -- one might almost call it a 'mystique' -- has grown up around the need to remove this rock, while still preserving its contents. [Rixon] shares membership in that dedicated body of workers referred to facetiously by the late D. R. Barton as 'the Jimmy Valentines of Science' -- the middlemen through whose hands a petrification must normally pass before it can be properly evaluated as a scientific object. Known to the profession as 'preparators', their job specifications read like those of a jack-of-all-trades -- stonemason, prospector, expedition organizer, cook, mechanic, blacksmith, chemist, and, sometimes, artist. The work can be ardous and is usually of painstaking character, requiring infinite patience, skill, and a knowledge of animal osteology."
On a related note, don't forget about the Second Annual Fossil Preparation and Collections Symposium* which will be held this year at the Tate Museum on Friday, June 5th (2009). Start making your plans!
*previous blog post on the meeting
Saturday, January 17, 2009
May your matrix be soft...
Several years ago my friend Dave Lovelace commissioned Russel Hawley (of the Tate Museum in Casper, Wyoming) to draft up their field creed for t-shirts, and the above image was the result. Dave suggested I use the image in my cafepress store, and I thought it was pretty funny so I have added it to several items there.
On a similar note, the Second Annual Fossil Preparation and Collections Symposium will be held this year at the Tate Museum on Friday, June 5th (2009). The first conference, held at Petrified Forest, Arizona in 2008, was a great success! "The symposium is devoted 100% to preparation, field techniques and collections care and management. A great opportunity to learn, teach, and enjoy our profession!" The combination of field trips, workshops and presented papers was a nice format and one familiar to many of us. They are also now looking for presenters, so if you have a neat idea of something preparation or collections related think about sending in an abstract for a talk!
For additional info, contact JP Cavigelli, the Tate Geological Museum, the facebook page for the meeting, or post your questions to the SVP PREPLIST.
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
Off to PEFO
This week I will be attending the Petrified Forest Fossil Preparation and Collections Symposium. You can see a complete list of the talks and posters that will be presented here. I anticipate a lack of internet, so there will probably be a lack of postings till next week. I'll be sure to take plenty of pictures and report back on the meeting. Have a great week!
NPS photo
Saturday, March 15, 2008
Fossil Preparation and Collections Symposium
Next month Petrified Forest will be holding a Prep and Collections Symposium. Not only will it be a good place to learn some new things, it is darn cheap compared to other meetings, at only $65 a person (for all events and a copy of the symposium proceedings)! I am really looking forward to some informative talks and workshops, along with some fun, seeing friends, good food, and sun. Hope to see a few of you there perhaps! ~ ReBecca
Petrified Forest National Park was established in 1906 to protect petrified wood and other fossils from the Upper Triassic Chinle Formation in northeastern Arizona. These fossils have been researched for over 100 years resulting in the publication of hundreds of papers, forming a cornerstone for Late Triassic paleontological studies in North America.
Click here for a list of talks/posters
A Fossil Preparation and Collections Symposium will be held at Petrified Forest National Park near Holbrook, Arizona from April 10-12, 2008.
Petrified Forest National Park was established in 1906 to protect petrified wood and other fossils from the Upper Triassic Chinle Formation in northeastern Arizona. These fossils have been researched for over 100 years resulting in the publication of hundreds of papers, forming a cornerstone for Late Triassic paleontological studies in North America.
Registration Fee: $65. Covers all events and includes a copy of proceedings volume.
Symposium Papers and Workshops:
Participants will have a choice of two of the following workshops:
- Introduction to molding and casting of museum objects
- Welding for mounted specimens and armatures
- Roundtable discussion on publication and building the preparation literature
- 3D visualization of collections using laser scanning equipment and software
Click here for a list of talks/posters
Conference Events
| April 10 | Paleontological Resources field trip |
| Evening: Welcome Reception in Holbrook, Arizona | |
| April 11 | Preparation and Collections Symposium, Petrified Forest National Park |
| Evening: BBQ Social, Petrified Forest National Park | |
| April 12 | Choice of Morning and Afternoon Workshops |
| Evening: Dinner Reception, Holbrook, Arizona |
For more information contact:
Matthew Brown
Fossil Preparator
Phone: 928-524-6228 ext. 281
or
William Parker
Park Paleontologist
Phone: 928-524-6228 ext. 262
Petrified Forest National Park
PO Box 2217
Petrified Forest, AZ 86028
Fax: 928-524-3567
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