2016 – Page 3 – Penn Dixie Fossil Park & Nature Reserve

Some uncommon Penn Dixie fossils

June 20, 2016Penn Dixie

With thousands of visitors to Penn Dixie each year, really cool fossils are uncovered fairly often. With a trained eye and determined spirit, our visitors never cease to amaze the staff and volunteers with what they discover.

Dr. Edgar Kooijman, Director of the Biotechnology Program at Kent State University sent us these photos and descriptions of some uncommon fossils from a trip to the site a couple of years ago. His specimens — a trilobite, a snail, a crinoid, and an amminoid — showcase the diversity of marine life that existed in our region during the Late Devonian Period.

The head of a Bellacartwrightia trilobite.

From Dr. Kooijman:

This rolled trilobite was identified as a Bellacartwrightia calliteles and was found during the field trip of the North Coast Fossil Club in May 2013. It came from the main trilobite layer [in the Windom Shale], and was prepped by Brian Dasno from Watertown NY. This was no small task as the specimen was essentially split in two. The eyes and some of the carapace were on one side, and the rest on another. While the specimen was crushed during or after fossilization it is complete and all the spines are visible. The “spikes” coming from the front of the head are the tail spines. The dorsal spines are also beautifully visible.

The following three specimens were all found during the May 2014 field trip of the North Coast Fossil Club, from Cleveland OH. They were prepped by Marc Behrendt.

From Dr. Kooijman:

The crinoid cup is from a species that is commonly found in the Sylica shale of Ohio, but which is rare (at least complete cups are) in the Windom shale at Penn Dixie. The name of this species is Arthroacantha carpenteri (Hinde). The “nob” at the top is where the stem would have been attached. Stem fragments are common fossils in the shale of Penn Dixie. Also note the numerous scars of the side of the crinoid cup. These scars used to hold spines that may have served to ward of snails that loved to feed on crinoids. The spines are not preserved in this specimen but the attachment points are easily visible.

A gastropod (snail) — potentially Bucculentium.

From Dr. Kooijman:

The snail is from the genus Platyceras, and the species may be Bucculentum. And was identified from among the different species found in the Sylica shale of north west Ohio. It was found just above the main trilobite layer at the edge of the digging pit during the 2014 season. It is the largest snail I have ever found at Penn Dixie.

A cast of an ammonoid — predatory cephalopod

From Dr. Kooijman:

The ammonite was found in the main trilobite layer. Note that the original shell material is not preserved and only the cast of this mollusk is visible. No genus name for this specimen is known. These aminoids are occasionally found in the Windom shale.

Penn Dixie thanks Dr. Kooijman for sharing his wonderful photos with us!

Our Scouting program rocked!

June 16, 2016Penn Dixie

Scouts with challenged to make rockets using only household items: two-liter soda bottles, cardboard, newspaper, and tape.

On Saturday May 28 — a day in which Buffalo set a new temperature record — Penn Dixie hosted its inaugural Scouting Rocks! program. The event was free for Boy and Girl Scouts in uniform and was designed to highlight the shared values between scientists and scouts, including: teamwork, creative thinking, problem solving, and respect for the outdoors.

Over 100 scouts and their families attended the event, which began with introductory remarks from Congressman Chris Collins — an Eagle Scout himself as well as major frequent supporter of Penn Dixie, Hamburg Town Supervisor Steven Walters — a strong supporter of Penn Dixie and community advocate for regional tourism to Hamburg, and Penn Dixie Executive Director Dr. Phil Stokes.

The program included special guests Adam Blair — an Eagle Scout — and Emilie Reynolds, both SUNY Buffalo mechanical engineering students, who helped scouts to design and launch rockets made from household materials. Rob Bauer from Moog helped to develop the activity but could not attend the day of the program.

Also included was fossil collecting in our freshly excavated quarry, sunspot viewing with astronomer Ernie Jacobs, nature walks with Penn Dixie staff, and Lomo Lomo food truck. We acknowledge the Greater Niagara Frontier Council of Boy Scouts and the Girl Scouts of Western New York for their support and guidance with this new program. Penn Dixie thanks all who attended and helped to make the program a tremendous success!

Congressman Collins welcomes guests at our check-in shelter.

Congressman Collins and Supervisor Walters deliver words of encouragement about scouting and science to our young audience.

Eagle Scout Adam Blair prepares for a successful rocket launch.

They looked high; they looked low. They looked everywhere for fossils!

The umbrella was a great idea to beat the heat on a record-setting day.

Astronomer Ernie Jacobs — who located sunspots using a special solar filter on his telescope — has a lot to work with on a hot, sunny day!

Finally, we thank Butch and Jake Burkett for taking photos at the event. You can find the full photo gallery here.

An Eagle Takes Flight

June 14, 2016April 19, 2024Penn Dixie

Eagle Scout Jake Clancy (second from left) supervises the placement of crushed stone on the new portions of the trail.

This spring, Penn Dixie was proud to host Eagle Scout candidate Jake Clancy’s trailbuilding project, which featured the development of approximately 600 feet of new trails at the site. Jake and his dad, Shawn, first approached us over the winter with an idea to improve and extend Penn Dixie’s nature trails.

Since much of our 54-acre site is relative undeveloped, we thought that this would be a great idea to increase our capacity for future nature programs — and create new, accessible ways to view and enjoy our wildlife.

Jake selected us for this honor and we are very satisfied with the final results, which included 575 feet of 6-8 foot wide new trails plus refurbishment of 250 feet of original trail. Penn Dixie thanks Jake and Shawn Clancy as well as the volunteers and community supporters who helped to make this project happen.

Boy Scout Troop 4 Volunteers:
Chance Gunderman
Logan Gunderman
Adam Blair
Matthew Fitzner
Frank Schostick
Justin Staffone
Joey Stablewski
Paul Sass
Zack Brown
Nate McMillen
Lucas Biniewski

Troop 4 Adult Volunteers:
Tom Brown
John Gunderman
Dan McMillen
Kim Sass
Amy Fitzner
Doug Blair
Shawn Clancy
Michelle Clancy

Family and Friend Volunteers:
Kenneth Kota
Nathan Pasqualetti
David Pasqualetti
Shannon Pasqualetti
Megan Clancy
Bob Clancy
Johann Clancy

Donors:
Lakeshore Hardware and Tool
Zoladz Construction (stone)
Aurora Optometric Group
West Herr Ford
Wegmans
Target
Tops Markets
BJ’s Wholesale
Lowes

Penn Dixie Staff:
Phil Stokes
Sarah Tarnowski

Jake clears underbrush in advance of the trail.

Jake’s team sets about spreading approx. 85 tons of crushed stone.

Success! After crushed stone is spread and flattened, Jake evaluates the finished product.

Our biggest dig ever!

May 26, 2016Penn Dixie

Our 2016 Dig with the Experts program was — by far — the largest ever! With 165 diggers, we more than doubled our attendance from 2015. To accommodate the large group, we dug — in Dan Cooper’s words — “the biggest hole yet.” The weather on Saturday May 21 was perfect for collecting fossils: cloudy, 53°F in the morning and 69°F in the afternoon — with a slight breeze. We welcomed visitors from a dozen states plus a large group from Ontario.

Weeklong preparations included the use of an excavator to scrape off overburden and bring large blocks of the Smoke Creek trilobite bed to the surface. The blocks were placed into piles, broken into smaller pieces by Dan Cooper, and cordoned off from the rest of the quarry to prevent ambitious collecters from claim jumping.

Dan Cooper gives a safety lecture prior to the start of the dig.

Once the dig was underway, collectors proceeded into the quarry to select a dig area and get cracking with hammers, chisels, and pry bars.

A freshly excavated portion of our quarry.

Large pieces of rock are broken into smaller chunks along bedding planes; these chunks are then split again and examined for fossils.

Dig with the Experts is a family event, too!

Success! Beautiful Phacops rana trilobites.

New this year: You Crack Me Up food truck served breakfast to hungry diggers all day.

We thank our experts — Dan Cooper, Don Bissett, and Jeff Aubrey — from the Cincinnati Dry Dredgers for making this program happen once again. We are grateful for Zoladz Construction for renting to us a brand new excavator — and an excellent operator — during the week of the dig. And, we thank our volunteers, interns, and staff for doing a tremendous job with the visitor experience.

Finally, we thank Butch and Jake Burkett for these wonderful photos and videos — including this spectacular footage from high above. You can check out the full Dig with the Experts Gallery here.

Free fossil dig for scouts in uniform

May 17, 2016Penn Dixie

Hamburg, NY — Penn Dixie’s inaugural Scouting Rocks! program will be held on Saturday May 28 from 9 am to 4 pm at the Penn Dixie Site in Hamburg, NY. The program, which is free for any scout — Boy or Girl — in uniform, includes fossil collecting, sunspot viewing, nature hikes, and rocket-making with help from scientists from Moog. The first 200 scouts to attend will receive a commemorative patch.

The program is designed to highlight the values shared between scientists and scouts. “Scouting teaches young people important skills and values, such as teamwork, trustworthiness, and respect for the outdoors and one-another,” said Congressman Chris Collins, who will provide introductory remarks. “With such a solid foundation, scouts are able to utilize their creative thinking and problem solving skills to excel in any career path they choose. As an Eagle Scout with a degree in Mechanical Engineering, I can personally attest to how well these values prepared me for educational and professional opportunities, particularly in the math and science fields. I applaud Penn Dixie for giving these young men and women an opportunity to better themselves and their communities in such an outstanding educational environment.”

Scouting Rocks! is coordinated with the Greater Niagara Frontier Council of Boy Scouts and the Girl Scouts of Western New York. All ages are welcome; non-scout adult admission is $9, non-scout children are $7. Lomo Lomo food truck will be on site through lunch.