OUTREACH ACTIVITIES OF THE ORTON GEOLOGICAL MUSEUM, OR "NO, SIR, YOU DON'T HAVE A METEORITE"

The Orton Geological Museum (OGM) was founded by Edward Orton Sr., the first president of The Ohio State University, one of the seven original faculty members and one of the first State Geologists of Ohio. In existence since 1893 and located in historic Orton Hall (itself a museum of Ohio’s geology) the OGM has an extensive outreach program that includes guided tours of the Museum for school and Scout groups, speakers for schools, clubs and other organizations, and identification of rocks, minerals, fossils and bones. Often identification results in disappointment but the finder always (well, almost always) leaves with increased knowledge. The most common identifications are those of the “dinosaur teeth” that are common in the Paleozoic rocks of Ohio (horn corals) and “meteorites” (usually glacial erratics but including concrete, asphalt, furnace slag, industrial waste and various other man-made materials). Sometimes identifications result in scientifically important specimens being added to the Museum’s permanent collection (for example the Rossburg Mastodon) but most items offered are graciously declined. Other outreach efforts include a periodic newspaper column on geologic topics and making specimens available for photography by a local publisher of science textbooks.