paleonet public information requests

["Cary Easterday" <xenoblatta@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Dear colleagues,

I think most of us receive information requests from school kids or the 
general public about paleontology and, of course, dinosaurs.  How do you 
reply to such requests?  Any tips?  Today I replied to one such request 
(below) from a fourth grader in Ohio.  You are welcome to review, use, edit, 
or delete my reply below.  If you have additional recommendations for these 
general requests, please share with the group.

Thank you,

Cary R. Easterday
PhD student--Geology, Paleobiology, Geoarthropods, Terrestrial Ecosystems, 
GIS, Numerical Modeling, Scientific Photography and Illustration

Dept. of Earth and Environmental Sciences
University of Illinois at Chicago
845 West Taylor Street, Room 2440
Chicago, IL 60607-7059
xenoblatta@hotmail.com
phone: 708.707.1030     fax: 312.413.2279

Geological Society of America
Entomological Society of America
Paleontological Society
Society for Sedimentary Geology (SEPM)
PaleoGeoArthropoda
The Field Museum
The Paleobiology Database
FossilBugz

----------------------------------------------
Hi Joey,

Thank you for your interest in paleontology.  Paleontology is the study of 
ancient life.  Most palaeontologists study fossils of ocean creatures 
(clams, snails, crabs, and starfish) since this is where most fossils are 
preserved.  Some paleontologists also study fossil of land creatures 
(plants, insects, mammals, reptiles, dinosaurs).  I study fossil insects.  
Paleontologists (people who work in paleontology) can work outside ("in the 
field") or in a laboratory.  Most paleontologists work for schools, museums, 
oil companies, or US government (US Geological Survey).  To be a good 
paleontologist, you should study biology, geology, and math in school.  
Chemistry is another class that will help, but you probably won't have that 
until middle school or high school.

Please contact me if you have any specific questions.

There is a good fossil club in Ohio called, "Dry Dredgers." They meet in 
Cincinnati. For more information, see http://drydredgers.org/. There are 
also many rock and mineral clubs in Ohio that have fossil speakers as well. 
For more information, see http://www.rockmanjoe.com/ohioclubs.html

I know of five natural history museums near where you live: Orton Geological 
Museum (at The Ohio State University campus in Columbus), Cleveland Museum 
of Natural History, Cincinnati Museum Center, Carnegie Museum of Natural 
History (in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), and The Field Museum (Chicago, 
Illinois).  Websites for more information are:

http://www.carnegiemnh.org/

http://www.cmnh.org/

http://www.fieldmuseum.org/

http://www.geology.ohio-state.edu/modules.php?op=modload&name=Dept_Info&file=Facilities

http://www.cincymuseum.org/

I can recommend some websites to learn more about paleontology and biology 
in general:

http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/index.html

http://www.colossal-fossil-site.com/

http://members.cox.net/jdmount/paleont.html

http://www2.nature.nps.gov/geology/paleontology//index.cfm

http://geology.about.com/od/lagerstatten/

http://tolweb.org/tree/phylogeny.html

http://www.mnh.si.edu/

http://www.paleosoc.org/

Good luck!

Cary R. Easterday


----Original Message Follows----
From: [snipped]
To: xenoblatta@hotmail.com
Subject: Paleontology Information Request
Date: Sat, 1 Apr 2006 05:14:56 -0800 (PST)

                                                                             
               Joey
                                                                             
                [snipped]
                                                                             
                 Eastlake, OH  44095

                                                                             
                 March 31, 2006

  Mr.Cary R Easterday,
       My name is Joey, and I am a fourth grader at Washington Elementry 
School.  I am doing an independent study on dinosaurs. An independent study 
is a big research report.  I need to learn about fossils and paleontology.  
I need to learn about how to become a paleontologist and all the things you 
do.Would you please send me any information you have on these subjects or 
any other subject on dinosaurs.  I can take the information through e-mail 
or U.S. mail.  Thank you for taking the time to read my letter.

                                                                             
                Sincerely,
                                                                             
                Joey