THOMPSON NICOLA PALEONTOLOGICAL SOCIETY
SCIENCE & EDUCATION
Our society has always been willing to help further the science of paleontology through donations of important specimens, and by contacting scientists to see if they would be interested in studying the material and sites we have found.
Several specimens have been shipped to research institutions for further study. Currently, there are over 20 specimens on loan to at least 5 different researchers across North America.
We continue to work with Thompson Rivers University. We hope to have TNPS members trained to assist in identification and recording of the fossil specimens in the TRU collection. Training from the Royal BC Museum in Victoria will help with this task.
There are over 1,500 specimens from one site alone in the TRU collection, and of those over 90% were donated by TNPS members. However, less than one third of the 1500 have been positively identified, and there are thousands more awaiting acsession to the collection.
A large plate from the McAbee Fossil Beds featuring a large beech (Fagus) leaf (left) and a type of sycamore (McGinitea) leaf (right). This was the first tcomplete sycamore leaf found at this site. The plate was found by a TNPS member who donated it and today it is on display in the Geology Lab at TRU.
Below: KEG Lecture on the
McAbee Fossil Beds, by John Leahy at TRU, February 2013.
Acknowledgements
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2 members have co-authored scientific papers naming new species or genera from the local area.
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2 members have a fossil named after them for their generosity to science.
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TNPS members have accounted for more new species and genera being named in scientific papers in the last decade than any other fossil society in the province.
Education is another important function of our Society. Some members visit local schools and give talks to elementary school children. We attend various public events where we display our fossils and educate on what this area offers. Every year we attend the Mining Days open house hosted by the Kamloops Exploration Group, Science Night at Thompson University, and Science Day at South Kamloops High School, where we normally have some fossils to give to children.
We have donated specimens and dislays to local schools and museums. An important permanent display was donated by one member to the Ashcroft Museum. Each year, two members host young students at that museum to educate them on the collection.
We maintain the fossil display in the Geology Lab at the University where we hold our meetings.
When the McAbee Fossil Beds were open, we had a booklet prepared for teachers interested in attending the site with their class. It gave them an idea of what to expect, what to bring, and what to do with the fossils back in the classroom. One member held a teacher professional development day at the site to allow teachers to experience it before they brought their students. Geologists, university students, and professionals also took advantage of this service.
We hosted the BC Paleontology Symposium in 2004, which was attended by both professionals and amateurs.
There is an extensive paleontological library among members, and we loan each other books and articles for research.
The knowledge and eperience of our members is shared regularly at our monthly meetings, on our fieldtrips, or over a cup of coffee at someone's home.
We are passionate about fossils!