The Shawnee State University Geology Club hosted a free Fantastic Fall Fossil Festival, in the basement of Massie Hall, Saturday, to introduce the world of fossils and geology to children in the area.

Paul Madden, of Portsmouth, brought his daughter Emma, 7, to the festival, where she was able to make her own “fossil” by impressing a shell into a dough ball. Madden said they’ll take it home and bake it to use as a Christmas tree ornament.

“She’s in second grade at Notre Dame, and they’re getting ready to study fossils, so this just fit right in with what they’re getting ready to do,” he said.

Emma also played in the fossil dig, and the fossil identification station.

“This is perfect. It’s a good opportunity for our science folks to reach out to the community, and you can see the level of interest by the number of people here. It’s a great idea,” Madden said.

Another popular station for kids was panning for “gold,” where SSU students Sean O’Day and Kevin Engle helped kids pan through a tub of water, rocks and sand looking for gold colored rocks. The kids get to keep whatever they find.

Down the hall, Dr. Kurt Shoemaker, associate professor of geology at SSU, was giving mini-lectures for children, called “What is a fossil? (and how do I become one?)” and “Fossils of Ohio.” During his lectures, Shoemaker explained what fossils are, how they are made, and where they are found.

Shoemaker and Dr. Jeff Bauer, professor of natural sciences, also were available to help identify any rocks, minerals or fossils brought into the festival.

“This is the first semester that we’ve actually had a Geology Club. Our department is getting big enough now to where we can begin to do things like this,” Brandon Blakeman, SSU student and president of the Geology Club said. “Most people don’t even know that Shawnee even has a Geology Department.”

Blakeman was working at the crafts table at the festival, selling fossils, necklaces, magnifying glasses, T-shirts and treats. Some of the items on the table were as much as 250 million years old. The snacks, he assures, were made fresh.

The best selling items on his table was stigmaria — fossilized tree trunks, and trilobites. Money raised will go to help the club pay for field trips; like one they are planning to Brandywine Falls in Cuyahoga Spring, near Cleveland, to study glaciation.

Next semester, Blakeman said, the club hopes to have activities for older, high school students.

RYAN SCOTT OTTNEY can be reached at (740) 353-3101, ext. 235, or e-mail pdtwriter@ryanscottottney.com.