These were created by Minnesota Buckeye from almost all locally collected fossils (Trilobites from Morocco) to replicate an Ordovician sea bottom. The detail and meticulous reconstruction is AMAZING! And he is donating them to local nature centers! They were displayed at The Glacier Stops Here Expo.
Mike did say that he used Super Glue and Wood Glue with sand blown into it for construction.
BE AMAZED & ENJOY!
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Replica Ordovician Sea Bottom
The pictures just do not do them justice!
I posted these pictures on thefossilforum.com and this is what Mike said:
“The fossil scenes posted by Bev are my ARTISTIC rendition of how the ancient seabed may have looked like years ago. These pieces are being donated to local schools, nature centers, and state parks in our area. I will continue to produce pieces for anyone who would like one for educational purposes. It helps me pass the long winter months here in Minnesota. The scenes were created in an effort to stimulate the minds of our youth in hopes that more children will get outdoors and explore the wonderful world of nature . Fossil expeditions provide opportunity to experience not only rocks, but the natural communities around them. Just look at people’s postings on the fossil forum. They show us their fossils, but it is their stories of experiences with plants, and animals and weather that create the most memories. Exposures like this are what is missing in many of our children’s (as well as adults) lives today !!!!!!! I hope to make some minor progress with this through my creations.
Wrangellian is probably correct in his assessment of my landscapes. I am a newbie to the world of fossils and collect mostly from the driftless lands of Minnesota which is primarily Ordovician. On occasion my travels to Iowa and Ohio have allowed me to pick up some rocks from areas that are likely Devonian. So some crossover of periods may exist in my displays. There are actually many more flaws to my creations, if one looks. Cheap trilobites from Morocco are on each hash plate. I could not part with my locally collected Ordovician trilobites but felt trilobites are an important part of our ancient sea floor and needed to be in my creations. If one looks carefully, pieces of receptaculites are displayed on long stalks. This may create the feeling of fingernails on a chalkboard to a purist from the world of geology. But they help artistically to bring everything together perched way up high. Again my project was meant to stimulate interest, not be a perfect rendition of the past. If I offend anyone because of this, you have my apologies.”
