Online Activities: Fossils

Museum paleontologists don't spend all their time doing research in the museum. They also go on field trips to collect fossils for study and to look at the rocks in which they are found.

In most cases, a small group of paleontologists travels to the locality - the place where the fossils are - for about one week. They use hand tools such as pry bars, hammers, and chisels to break and split the rock. By doing this they can find and remove the fossils that are often hidden inside.

Each fossil collected is marked with a number, then wrapped up and carefully packaged for the trip back to the museum. The fossil's number and information about the locality are written down in the field notes. This helps the paleontologists remember all the important details when they study the fossils back at the museum.

Fossils may be found almost anywhere sedimentary rocks are exposed. Good places to look are in natural exposures along cliffs or the banks of rivers, and in excavations such as rock quarries and road cuts. It is important to get permission to collect on private land or in quarries. Collecting is not allowed in some provincial and national parks.

Most of the staff in the ROM's Paleobiology department go on collecting trips. This includes the curators, assistant curators, and the technicians.

 

 

Field camp on Kwataboahegan River, south of Moosonee, Ontario. Photo: D. Rudkin

Hungry Hollow locality on Ausable River, near Arkona, Ontario. Photo: D. Rudkin

Abitibi River in the James Bay Lowlands. Photo: D. Rudkin