Canadian Rockhound: Teaching Basic Paleontology to Children

In 1991 my wife quit her job as controller of Coca Cola (Victoria) and started a small tourist attraction called the Scratch Patch. Popular with adults and children alike, the 'Patch' was a 300 square metre outside garden filled with about a ton of polished semi-precious gemstones. There was also a pool filled with small tropical shells. The result was a rewarding beachcombing experience (which happened to be on the waterfront). For a few dollars, a visitor could buy an empty bag and fill it with whatever they liked ... agates, cowrie shells, amethyst, jasper, mother-of-pearl, and more.

The waterfront Scratch Patch with the DinoDig tent in the foreground.

School talk on rocks and minerals, with hand specimens ... popular with students and teachers alike.

Much to her delight, the business took off rapidly. She added a retail store (Mineral World) to sell rock-related products, such as agate bookends and gem trees. The following summer, we experimented with a gold panning pool, and that too became a hit, especially with teenagers who felt they were "too old" to hunt for gemstones.

The following winter, to fill in the off-season, she began inviting schools to attend hands-on rock and mineral classes. Thus was born the 'Doc Rock' lessons, which involved a talk on rocks and minerals (with lots of interesting specimens passed around), a field trip to the Scratch Patch to find specific gems (which were then glued to a collector's card), and then some free time to hunt for whatever they liked. The classes became very popular as the years passed, and more and more teachers realized what a great resource the lessons were to their curriculum.

Expanding the project:

At the back of our minds, we were always looking to expand the program to include a wider field of earth science related projects. In 1998, while attending a museum conference, we saw a synthetic fossil dig designed for children. While we liked the concept, we were unhappy with the details. The children used a trowel to excavate, and the 'rock' produced a lot of dust, which would be a problem, even in an outside attraction.

Gold panning in one of the pools. Getting wet and dirty experiencing BC's gold rush history.
Teaching paleontology
Don't look behind you, but ... learning hands-on paleontology in the DinoDig.

Over the winter, we experimented with a variety of bonding agents and excavating tools, and came up with a rock that didn't shatter, didn't split, and didn't make dust. At children shows, we tested the concept, and quickly learned that safety goggles on kids unused to wearing glasses, were a safety hazard! We also modified the hammer and chisel design, until we were comfortable that we could provide an experience that matched field paleontology, but was simpler to manage, and provided a safe level of interaction with minimal supervision.

The question of fossils was easily solved. There are huge numbers of common fossils available at trade shows, sold by the pound or kilo. We had long ago decided (a) that the kids should be able to keep what they found, and (b) that the fossils should be intellectually interesting.

What remained to be done was to determine how many fossils to how much rock. Or, to put it another way, how do you try to have every small child find something, when teenagers can rip through the rock at five times the rate? A series of experiments (adding/subtracting bonding agents), plus factoring in the variable temperatures during the day (early mornings were cold, and rock much harder than at midday), meant a series of compromises.

In 1999 we opened the DinoDig. To limit participants (8 at a time), we charged a minimal amount ($2.50) so that people appreciated they were getting something of value. (If it's free, people seldom respect it.) To publicize the facility, we started in April, with a covering tent (it rains here on the West Coast!) and invited school classes to participate. One of our first visitors was a local TV show that gave the DinoDig airtime. So, before the summer had really begun, the news had spread through the local schools that there was something 'new and cool' to do at Mineral World.

We hired two university students to manage the summer operation. One or both were on-site each day. They were given training in paleontology, modern excavation skills, and crowd management. Information boards, sample specimens and ID cards were also provided. In this way, participants learned as well as experienced, and parents could take away the printed matter, and relate it to the child's discoveries at a later date.

We learned a number of interesting things over that summer:

Children under 6 lack the muscle control to wield a hammer.
Children 6-10 tire quickly, and need a reasonably high success rate somewhere (not necessarily where they are digging) to remain motivated.
Teenage boys can do an amazing amount of damage, if not controlled!
Adults are as addicted to excavating as children!

In turn, the participants learned:

Paleontology is physically demanding, as well as intellectually challenging.
It's a long way from a field discovery to a museum exhibit!
At the time, the hands-on experience appears to be the highlight of the day, but later, it's what they learned about fossil history, animal evolution and geological time that stuck in peoples' minds.

Other sites:

Collecting gemstones in the Scratch Patch. Over a ton to choose from, and no time limit.

Fossils
An introduction to fossils ... a typical 15 minutes worth of digging.

To the best of our knowledge, few other facilities allow participants to keep what they find. This is fair enough, given the unknown value of in-situ fossils at other sites. But at the DinoDig, we are using common ammonites, belemnites, shark's teeth and brachiopods. The value of allowing a child to take his/her discovery away, together with information on the specimen, cannot be underestimated. Returning visitors are consistently more knowledgeable and better motivated.

It has also been somewhat surprising that we seem to be a pioneer in this field. Over the past two years, numerous museums (both national and international) have contacted us, and asked for details. It has always been freely given. We are a commercial operation, but provided we can assist with just a few emails, we believe this aid to learning is too important to be franchised or sold. It's there for the asking.

There have been critics. They have suggested that what we are misrepresenting paleontology. In 'real life', they argue, you don't find fossils as easily, or as often. True. But then fairy tales misrepresent the real world. T-ball misrepresents real baseball. You have to start somewhere. And learning with a rubber hammer and blunt chisel is a great introduction to a wonderful science that is still the domain of the amateur. Unlike astrophysics and brain surgery, paleontology is a hobby you can practice for the rest of your life, without making it your career. We are certain we have stimulated many youngsters' interests in the discipline.

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