Links
Learn about paleontology
Fossil collection to imaging A great from, and narrated, by Roger Burkhalter at Sam Noble Museum. “The video goes from collecting, to preparation, to blackening and whitening of the fossil, then photography using image stacking”
Fossil Roulette A fun way to learn about some of the fossils in our collections
Palaeocast: A lively series of podcasts covering topics from Precambrian cyanobacteria to Quaternary marsupial evolution
Pancakes and Geology: If you need a refresher try this video with Kirk Johnson (now Director of the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History) and Ray Troll (of Cruisin’ the Fossil Freeway fame)
The Paleobiology Database: Try the new Navigator page and explore global occurrences through deep time. Confused about the new PBDB set-up-this explains the changes
The Paleontology Portal: The fossil prep page, while geared to vertebrates, provides some excellent guidelines for any fossil preparation
University of California Museum of Paleontology: Always a useful resource
Learn about conserving specimens
The Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections (SPNHC) has many publications helpful for conservation and archiving of specimens, with links to many other resources.
Carter, D. & Walker, A. K. (1999). Care and Conservation of Natural History Collections. Oxford: Butterworth Heinemann
Care and Conservation of Geological Collections
Take a global view of museums
American Museum of Natural History: A ‘must’ visit online or in person at 79th Street and Central Park West in New York
Museum National D’Histoire Naturelle: This museum is located in Paris but the online access is amazing for researchers
National Museum of Natural History: A wealth of invertebrate and plant fossils and microfossils form the major portion of these collections. An increasing number can be examined online, but definitely worth a visit to Washington, D C.
Natural History Museum: A terrific resource on line and in person if you are in London