Have you ever wondered what it takes to “clean” a fossil? What exactly do paleontologists do with them between the dig site and the exhibit? Catch a glimpse of this process in a new Fossil Preparation Laboratory located in the Morian Hall of Paleontology at the Houston Museum of Natural Science. A large glass window will be the only thing between museum visitors and volunteer paleontologists, cleaning fossils to be displayed. The paleontologists will be able to communicate with guests through a microphone, and guests can communicate back with a press-to-talk intercom system built into the lab.
Visitors watch as Permian era fossils are cleaned and prepared with state-of-the-art tools and technology in a lab where the air is vacuumed, filtered and recycled. These technical aspects to the process will be thoroughly explained, and guests will also see a bird’s eye view of the workspaces via camera feeds placed above the window. The Fossil Preparation Laboratory is generously supported in part by Rikki C Raflo EdD and Col. Charles P Raflo DVM. For more information, www.hmns.org.
