Hobbies And Interests
Things You'll Need
Instructions
Know your area. You don't want to be caught trespassing, and you will be a more successful fossil finder if you know the geography of where you're panning or digging. Wear proper clothing, such as boots or waders and long sleeves.
Build your own screen sifting box. In order to pan for fossils, you'll need a screen sifter to help get through the mud and silt. You can build a sifting box by cutting 4 small boards (1-by-4-by-18-inch) and nailing the corners together. Wood staple a piece of old aluminum window screen to the bottom, or "hardware cloth," which can be purchased at a local hardware store.
Dig for treasure. Wade into the stream away from the bank but not further than waist-deep. Gently scrape the surface of the bed with your shovel and empty it into your sifting box being slow and careful to ensure preservation of any fossils you may recover. Fill the sifter about one-third of the way full, then lay down the shovel and repeatedly submerge the box half-way into the water, sifting gently with your hands or a hand-sized spade. Scope out places where layers might have formed over time. Fossils are, after all, merely impressions of things---plants, fish, animals---which have become part of the local rock formed over a long period of time by deposits of silt and mud.
Look for fossils. After sifting, examine the box thoroughly for fossils. Remove any finds immediately and store them in an airtight container.
Repeat the process. Be careful to not stay in an area too long, so as to cause large excavation-type sites. You will want to ensure that the area stays environmentally friendly as well as a preserved place for future fossil hunters to revisit.