The Tri-Club Education Committee of Ventura County

A Co-operative Effort of the

Oxnard, Ventura and Conejo Gem and Mineral Societies

The goal of the General Fossil Kit is to teach and get students interested in Earth Science. The General Fossil Kit comes in a 15” x 8 ½” x 2”, easy to handle metal case that is lockable. It has 18 compartments with a fossil from each of the 18 Eras. The kits include samples from all 5 kingdoms that include such diverse samples as algae and trilobites to dinosaur bone and a marine mammal tooth.

The Tri-County Gem & Mineral Societies has created five, two-sided, laminated sheets of information as educator's aids. Each sample is documented with a photograph, time period and location where it was found and some interesting information about the specimen. What a fossil is and the different forms of fossilization is given. There is a also a laminated chart with information on the “Tree of Life” and the “5 Kingdoms” are defined. Also included is a 160 page guidebook, "Pockets Fossils".

Two classroom activities, “Making a Fossil” and instructions on creating a time line are included.

The two General Fossil Kits were developed, documented and assembled by Jim Brace- Thompson, acclaimed fossil collector from Ventura and the author of the instruction manual for the Earth Science Kit that is being distributed to the county’s schools. Brace-Thompson, who has won many awards in this field, donated many of the fossils from his own collection.

Two General Fossil Kits has been created and donated to the Ventura County Library System by the Tri-County Gem & Mineral Societies of Ventura County. The Ventura County Library System has also assembled grade level books to checkout for use with the General Fossil Kit.

You can reserve the General Fossil Kit for whenever you need it by calling E.P. Foster Library at 805-648-2715. The Library will send the kit to your nearest county library for pick-up before the requested date.