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How to Display Fossils

You have some interesting choices in displaying your fossil collection. Group them by type (like all the trilobytes), or, by region (one display for Florida, one for Kenya)? Do you wish a plain display allowing the fossils to stand alone, or, add artist's renderings of the ancient animals? The display you choose will vary by the size of the fossil as well--a small shark's tooth can sit in a small box, while a mastodon tusk calls for a glass display case.

Things You'll Need

Riker-style display boxes
Acrylic or wooden bases
Wooden shadow boxes
Glass cases
Wool felt

Instructions

- 1
  Select your best specimens for display. A half a dozen trilobytes is not as interesting as one large or exceptionally well-preserved one.
- 2
  Place small and delicate fossils in Riker-style display boxes. These are black self-framing boxes with a clear lid and a soft, padded inside.
- 3
  Display larger fossils on a substantial base, or on a clear glass shelf. Fossil collecting providers sell black acrylic bases, which make large and light-colored fossils stand out in the display.
- 4
  Display a collection of fossils in a flat glass-covered case, like a shadow box, which is available at framing or crafts stores. Line the base of the box with red or black wool felt, to provide contrast to the fossils.
- 5
  
  A well-labeled (if untidy) display of fossils.
  
  Create labels for each fossil, if you desire, that detail on different lines the Latin name; modern name; era; and location found. For example, "Charcharias megalodon/Prehistoric great white shark/Pliocene epoch/Approx. 4.5 million years old/Lower Yorktown Formation/Beaufort Co., North Carolina."
- 6
  Catalog your display, advise authors Garcia and Miller in "Discovering Fossils." Paleontologists keep detailed records of the date and location of their finds, and mark the fossils (inconspicuously) with permanent ink; or pencil, on a dab of white enamel paint. You may choose instead to catalog your fossils with digital photos, sparing you from having to mark the fossil.
- 7
  Display any fossils, which you do not put in a Riker box or shadow box, in a glass display case. Fossil collectors advise that a dusty fossil is an uninteresting fossil; besides which, a fossil which has been unearthed can be delicate and dry, which dust does not help.

Fossil Collecting