Finding Fossils, from Dinosaurs to Mastodons by Gabriel Short

Have you ever wondered about how fossils are formed? Ever wonder what kind of extinct creatures may be in your own backyard? Learn about how the bones of dinosaurs and other ancient life become fossils and how scientists uncover these puzzle pieces to discover facts about the critters that came before us!

About a year ago, Greg and Carla Touliatos, the owners of Urban Earth Garden Center, decided to add a paleontology section to the children’s area, adjacent to the miniature gardening section. Garden centers are always looking for ways to get children interested in gardening, but the traditional way, with smaller tools and garden themed toys, has met with only minimal success. But, kids already love dinosaurs and the dinosaur section has been wildly popular with children of all ages! Once you get kids digging in the dirt and taking an interest in the natural world, it’s a lot easier to get them to segue into gardening.

Gabriel Short, our speaker, is a graduate student at the University of Memphis, earning his degree in Museum Studies. He specializes in archaeological and paleontological collections.