OUT OF THE SPECIMEN CABINET: BRINGING FLORISSANT SPECIMENS TO STUDENTS, TEACHERS, AND THE PUBLIC

The Florissant Formation is a fossil plant and insect locality that has been collected for over a century and a half, long before the area was designated a National Monument. Specimens from the site—including type specimens and those figured in manuscripts—are scattered in museums and collections in the United States and Europe. The Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument (FLFO) itself holds a collection of over 11,000 specimens, most of which the public never has a chance to see. It is imperative to bring these resources, largely unseen outside of academia, to a wider audience in ways that are accessible and useful. The websites <museum.nps.gov> and <idigpaleo.org> offer a mechanism for public access, and the Geoscientists-in-the-Park program allows for specialized researchers at the beginning of their careers to form targeted subcollections designed for specific audiences. Thus far, the collection objects that have been selected for display on <museum.nps.gov> are a “best of” list of specimens stored at FLFO. Particular attention has been paid to the fossil insect specimens. They are usually small, but are highly detailed and their morpholologies are often distorted by the fossilization process. Thus, the online insect descriptions often reference augmented photographs to aid in their interpretation. The descriptions themselves teach the user about insect morphology, biology, and paleontology. Descriptions about the plants often note living relatives, features useful for identification, or general facts about the Florissant flora. Inception of a new subsite on iDigPaleo is focusing on selecting published Florissant fossil specimens to feature as “light box collections.” These will be used by teachers and other educators to implement paleontology- and fossil collection-focused activities. The photographs and metadata for these specimens were previously collected primarily for use by researchers (available at <planning.nps.gov/flfo/> and <flfo-search.colorado.edu>); however, the light box collections will pare this information down to a more practical and manageable size. This is an ongoing project: future work will offer broader coverage of FLFO’s collections on <museum.nps.gov> and specific lesson plans and paleontology-themed educational activities will be incorporated into iDigPaleo.