Conservation, Curation, and Website Development for the Karl Hirsch Fossil Eggshell Collection at the University of Colorado Museum

在陈凯伦博士的指导下，科罗拉多大学博尔德分校获得了一笔赠款，用于长期护理和保存世界范围内的蛋壳化石收藏品，其中包括鸟类、恐龙、海龟和其他爬行动物等各种动物的蛋壳化石。 数千张照片、底片和相关研究笔记将被放入档案材料和安全的住房中。 这些照片中有许多是特别保存的显微切片。 这些材料的电子目录将被汇编并放在网上，远程研究人员将可以访问这些数据。 化石蛋壳不如身体化石那么有名，但它们有潜力提供关于古代生殖习惯，产卵生物的生殖和进化，遥远过去的环境条件以及古生物学的其他方面的见解。 这些标本来自六大洲（超过35个国家），年龄从侏罗纪（约2亿年前）到更新世（约12，000年前）。 图像和信息将链接到古生物学门户网站，使教师和教育工作者能够查阅。 研究生和本科生将参与照片保护和网站开发。 研究生还将与两名中学教师合作，制定基于鸡蛋和蛋壳化石的中学标准。

A grant has been awarded to the University of Colorado at Boulder under the direction of Dr. Karen Chin to provide for long-term care and preservation of a fossil eggshell collection that is worldwide in scope and includes fossil eggshells from a diverse set of animals, including birds, dinosaurs, turtles, and other reptiles. Several thousand photographs, negatives, and associate research notes will be put into archival materials and secure housings. Many of these photographs are of specially preserved microscopic sections. An electronic catalogue of the materials will be assembled and placed online, where remote researchers will have access to the data. Fossil eggshells are less well-known than body fossils, but they have the potential to provide insights on ancient reproductive habits, phylogeny and evolution of egg-laying organisms, environmental conditions in the remote past, and other aspects of paleontology. These specimens come from six continents (over 35 countries), and range in age from Jurassic (approximately 200 million years ago) to the Pleistocene (approximately 12,000 years before the present). Images and information will be linked to the Paleontology Portal website, which will make them accessible to teachers and educators. Graduate and undergraduate students will participate in photo conservation and web site development. The graduate student will also work with two middle school teachers to develop middle school standards based exercises on eggs and fossil eggshells.