On the edge of Daviess County’s southern border sits a fault line that is providing the Owensboro Museum of Science and History the perfect opportunity to find rocks and fossils for two days of geology events this weekend. Guests of all ages are invited to attend the events at the museum.
The museum will host events from 10:15 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Saturday and from 1:15-5 p.m. on Sunday. There will be several activities, including fossil digs, a rock talk, and education about the unique fossils on display in the museum.
OSHM Executive Director Kathy Olson said the museum always has on display its mammoth and mastodon fossils, which were found in the Ohio River, yet it will be able to show some of its newest finds and collections.
New Science Educator Cran Combs visited the Old Rough Creek Fault at the border to collect artifacts, including brachiopods.
“Marine brachiopod is the Kentucky State fossil, but it’s a species that is extinct now. The fossils are bivalve, so like a clam, but there were all kinds of rocket pods in this thing he found,” Olson said.
Olson said the fossil is believed to be from roughly 390 million years ago, which would be a rarity. She said the strata, the layers of earth, in which this fossil would be found aren’t exposed in our area.
“Then it hit me that an earthquake with that fault [likely] pushed up the rocks underneath it. Now, we have these fossils that aren’t usually on the surface in this area right there because of the fault,” Olson said.
So with this new opportunity, Olson said they plan to show attendees what fossils look like when preserved properly and address some misconceptions about fossils.
General admission to the museum is required to attend the events.
