Looking at the Past and Seeing the Future on a Fossil-Hunting Adventure

If you want to understand the future, look at the past. That's what Mark Alsip does, and he's sharing that with his nieces and nephews.

"I live in an area of Lexington, Kentucky, that was underwater during a period known as the Ordovician," Alsip says. "I am a science buff and it has rubbed off on my nieces and nephews. There is a road cut through a section of limestone that's a treasure trove of marine fossils such as brachiopods. We have done many hunts there."

"My nieces and nephews enjoy fossil hunting with me. My 7-year-old nephew even took a limestone slab imbedded with fossils to school for show and tell. My family and his classmates were astounded to learn we were holding in our hands creatures that have lived between 350 million and 500 million years ago."

"One thing I discovered about children is if you spend time with them, they bond with you. They're naturally curious and when they are young they know a lot about dinosaurs," he says. Alsip lives about a half mile from the hunting ground.

His niece Addison is now driving age. She wants to major in science and possibly become a veterinarian. His youngest sister's daughter learned about dinosaurs in elementary school. Alsip takes her fossil hunting once a month.

Did you know that birds are today's dinosaurs? Most dinosaurs had feathers and many evolved into birds so another way to see modern-day dinosaurs is to take kids birdwatching.

Like Alsip's nieces and nephews, Lee Higginbotham, the former president of the Dallas Paleontological Society, believes taking children on fossil digs opens them up to a world of science. He hunts for fossils at Mineral Wells Fossil Park, a free city-owned park in Mineral Wells, Texas, where visitors can collect Pennsylvanian Aged fossils. "Geologists give time periods names," he explains. "Pennsylvanian time is 300 million years ago. This is well before the time of dinosaurs."

Credit: Courtesy Michele C. Hollow

His personal goal for the Fossil Park is not to create paleontologists, but to make science more exciting "and to open kids' eyes to wonder," he says. Some of the young visitors ventured into paleontological careers and others developed a love of science.

Myra Doughty, paleontologist at Montana Dinosaur Center, was like most little kids. She knew all of the dinosaur names and numerous facts about them. In school, however, the history of dinosaurs tends to be taught in a two-week period. "And then that's it," she says. "We move on to other topics."

The "Jurassic Park" movies helped reignite that interest in kids. What rekindled Doughty's passion was a trip to the "Walking with Dinosaurs Arena Spectacular" in her native New Jersey. It was here where she saw animatronic dinosaurs. At the time, she was in high school trying to decide on a career. "I was surrounded by little kids," she says. "All who loved dinosaurs like I used to. Being there, my love for dinosaurs kicked in. I thought, 'I really love this.'"

She applied to Montana State University in Bozeman, Montana, and as an undergraduate worked at the Museum of the Rockies. As part of the Montana Dinosaur Center's expeditions, she has worked at Eyrie, where visitors can find dinosaur eggs, and Graveyard, where dinosaur bones are found.

Visitors on these digs do not take home their finds. The bones and eggs are catalogued in the museum. "We explain to the kids that the fossils they found is part of something bigger," Doughty says. "It could be one of 27 or more pieces. Their names are attached to the find. We share that what they found is part of a missing piece of a story. Often, they return a few months or a year later and ask if others found more of the pieces that can complete the story of that animal. They feel proud because they are helping us learn about the past."

"It's exciting for everyone, kids, their parents, and grandparents, because when you make a discovery you're the first person to see part of this animal. It's quite powerful and so positive," she says.

Doughty says her worst day occurs when she's out alone in the field and it starts to hail. "I cover myself with a tarp and continue to dig," she laughs. "Then I find a bone that weighs way more than I can carry. Even a bad day is good!"

Part of the appeal of fossil hunting for Doughty is learning from the past and its repetitive cycles. "We learn about climate and how the earth responds to change," she says. "The more we look back, the more we're able to see how different things affect life. The aftereffects of a falling asteroid, temperature shifts and extinction gives us an idea of what we might expect in our future."

Here are a some tips to go fossil hunting yourself:

• Fill a backpack with a couple of small shovels, a small rock hammer or chisel, and two brushes; one brush should have soft bristles to remove dirt from delicate fossils and the other should be firmer to remove caked-on dirt.
• Bring a notebook and pencils to draw and record your finds. You may also want to take a camera.
• Take sunscreen, a hat, a bottle of water and snacks.
• Practice patience. Most dig sites are large areas filled with rocks and a variety of fossils. To the untrained eye, it’s difficult to distinguish the difference between a rock and a fossil. Before you go, research the area and look for pictures of what you may find. Once at the site, look slowly and carefully.
• Look for rocks that contain a different color or a smooth surface from other rocks in the vicinity. That tells you a fossil is present.
• Dinosaur bones are rare. If you think you found a bone, use the tongue test. Clean the bone and lick it with your tongue. Tongues stick to bones, not rocks.
• Write down where you found the fossil and include the date with a brief description.