A PALEONTOLOGICAL PREPARATION LAB, A MECHANISM FOR GENERATING STUDENT EXCITEMENT IN THE GEOSCIENCES

The Department of Geology at Kansas State University has developed and constructed a paleontology preparation laboratory (PPL) and an accompanying curriculum to be used as a focal point for their K-12 outreach geoscience education program. The lab was modeled after a successful recruiting program at the University of New Orleans. The PPL is used in the introductory courses, with visiting K-12 schools and in outreach programs such as The Girls Researching Our World (GROW) and Boy Scouts of America.

Fossils initiate excitement and interest in the geosciences. Dinosaurs have the highest profile from the public perspective. A preparation lab possesses a clear advantage over virtually every other medium in communicating with the general public: hands-on specimens. The preparation lab sponsors activities for undergraduates who want to earn extra credit in the freshman lab, and learn more about paleontology. The lab is also used during field trips to the department for K-12 students learning about Earth History. These activities both inform the interested public about paleontology and serve as a recruitment tool for KSU and for future budding scientists.

A dust collection system was built using materials available at the local home store. Necessary abrasion equipment for fossil preparation was purchased from Internet auction sites (ebay). The PPL was constructed for less than $2,500. Fossils for the outreach program are not research quality and are ideal for hands-on preparation by novice students. They were obtained from the current collection at KSU, as well as donations from UNO. The PPL is also available to geology majors to work on fossils they have collected on various fieldtrips.

Based upon the UNO preparation lab model, we anticipate student involvement and recruiting to be enhanced at KSU. At UNO, student participants in the preparation laboratory expressed a high level of engagement. Being part of the geoscience experience and working on real fossils ignited an interest that resulted in several new majors each year.