Field Equipment for Fossil Collecting

Safety Equipment

• Working in the field requires the use of safety equipment. Goggles protect eyes from flying rock chips. A hard hat protects the head from falling rocks. Gloves protect hands from sharp rocks. A bright colored jacket makes it easy to be seen. And never work in the field without plenty of water and a first-aid kit.

Rock Hammers and Chisel

• A rock hammer has one blunt end for breaking off rocks and a rock pick on the other for prying rocks out of an outcrop. Chisels can be used to excavate dirt and rock away from a large fossil sample to free it from the surrounding matrix.

Hand Lens

• A hand lens is used to magnify fossil samples in the field. They aid in identification and seeing details of the fossil. A folding hand lens of 10x is recommended for fossil work.

Sample Bags and Boxes

• After they're collected, fossils should be protected using foam or cotton. Then they should be placed into sample bags or boxes and labeled with the fossil name and the location where it was found.

Brush

• A brush is necessary in a fossil collection kit. It can be used to remove all dust and dirt in order to determine the best way for extraction.

Superglue

• Superglue should only be used as a last resort in fossil collection. It can be applied to a delicate fossil before extraction in order to keep it intact. Most fossil repairs should take place in the lab. Securing fish scales before extraction is a good use for superglue in the field.