The Friends of the Florissant Fossil Beds, Inc.

Yesterday, with the assistance of Intermountain Regional museum curator Matt Wilson and Jennifer Fish Kashay, the lead exhibit designer, a team of staff, volunteers, and interns had an all-day exhibit assembly party. While the new exhibits aren’t complete yet, we made a lot of progress, and you’ll see more changes in the Visitor Center over the next few months.

Exhibit Cabinets

Over the last few weeks, Lead Interpretive Ranger Jeff Wolin and several volunteers assembled the drawers for the three new exhibit cabinets, which are now installed in the Visitor Center.

The drawers contain carefully selected fossils from Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument’s museum collections and a loan from Waynesburg College, as well as photographs of microscopic fossils and exceptional specimens at other institutions and casts of fossil mammal jaws.

This cabinet stands next to the door to the new theatre, where the park’s film plays three times an hour. Step-stools are provided so children can view the fossils.  Drawers hold fossils carefully nestled in Ethafoam&tm; cutouts to protect them from jostling when the drawers are pulled out.

Fossil Mounting

Yesterday, Wilson taught a group of interns and volunteers how to mount fossils in brass mounts. After trimming the brass arms, pounding the tips flat, and rounding them with a file, the mounts are carefully bent around the fossil block so as not to touch the surface of the fossil impression itself. These fossils will be screwed into upright panels, to be installed on top of the cabinets and in a wall display.

Upright Panels

The printed backgrounds for the upright panels are attached to foamcore board, which had to be glued to the wooden panels themselves. Many of the upright panels also have fossils mounted on them.

The fossils have to be positioned against the panel. Then a hole is drilled and the fossil mount is screwed in. This wall case panel is protected by a sheet of plexiglass. These cases are both more dustproof and easier to clean and access than the old exhibit cases.

The completed display! Like the old “What is a fossil?” display, this exhibit explains different kinds of fossilization processes.

It uses specimens and photographs of Florissant fossils to illustrate the types of fossilization found in the park, as well as a few types of fossils not found at the park (such as amber, tar pits, and dinosaurs). The old exhibit contained an assortment of fossils from a variety of places, so we’re excited about the new display being more specific to the park.

What’s Next?

The exhibit from last summer’s nature photography seminar, up since September, has finally been taken down (somewhat the worse for weather). A large panel showing an artist’s reconstruction of ancient Lake Florissant will replace it. Inside, the upright panels for the cabinets still need to be installed, as well as puzzles for children.

-Melissa Barton

Photo Credits: Melissa Barton

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