As I mentioned earlier I was a speaker at the Paleontological Research Institute's 5th annual
Summer Symposium talking about this blog and the outreach I have been doing. [You can see me in the bottom left-had picture in the red jacket.]
Anyway, I will be doing a small one-day exhibit over at the
Museum of the Earth in Ithaca, New York on
Saturday September 24th for their Family Day (and opening of the new Fossil Prep Lab which I have worked in before). I'll be there with some unseen pieces of the Sholesonian Collection while teaching kids (and parents, others, etc.) tips to having collections. You'll get some inside tips of the trade.
I will also probably be giving another brief presentation on the Sholesonian at this event and as always will be glad to talk to individuals and families about pursuing collecting - whether it be fossils, insects, rocks, or memorabilia.
And as always, leave a comment here, email us, or post on our Facebook wall if you have any questions about your own collection or just want to say hello!
And as a side note, I am providing here a list of
endangered, threatened, locally extinct, and species of special concern list for the state of New York. Please note that if you do collect shells/insects (or delve into taxidermy) to not capture/kill any of these species. We must protect our biodiversity and natural wildlife to [Dare I say it: Save the world! (I stole that from Bill Nye whom I just recently met)] This also means that you should not collect an excessive amount of any one species, even if they are very common (a lesson we should learn from the
Passenger Pigeon). Hopefully I will print out a nice handout with picture of what not to collect for the event.
