Waldron Shale Project helps students learn through discovery

Rob Weber

The recent workshop attracted educators from 10 Kentucky counties, as well as teachers from Indiana and Ohio. They spent the day learning about inquiry-based learning opportunities to engage students. They also received materials and tools to take back to their classrooms, including buckets of rocks, cleaning tools, materials to identify fossils, a digital microscope, measuring tools, and other items.

The Waldron Shale Project started in 2015 as a professional development opportunity for teachers offered by Bulinski and Alan Goldstein, interpretive naturalist at Falls of the Ohio State Park in Clarskville, IN. The program has received an education and outreach grant from KAS and, more recently, funding from the Sam Shine Foundation. Bellarmine University and Falls of the Ohio State Park also provide logistical support for the program.

Rocks and buckets are provided by Irving Materials, Inc., which allows shale containing fossils to be collected at its quarry in Sellersburg, IN. The shale found at the quarry provides particularly rich learning opportunities for students, Bulinski said.

“The Waldron shale is a layer of rock from the Silurian period that was named for a location in Waldron, Ind. You can find it across the region, but there’s only certain places where it bears a lot of fossils,” Bulinski said. “The Waldron shale -- at least the part we’re getting -- is a very fossiliferous unit which makes it very satisfying. We can dig through the fossils and find beautiful specimens so there is something very satisfying about it.

“There’s also a citizens’ science angle to this too because we are getting these bulk samples of shale that have fossils in them and we’re giving them out to schools and then the students discover what’s in there. We don’t necessarily know what’s in those buckets. When they discover it, they report it back to us. We can post pictures on our website and share it with everybody that’s involved with the project.”

Bulinski said more than 100 teachers have been involved with the Waldron Shale Project since its beginning.

“We expect that thousands of students have now had a chance to do the Waldron Shale Project,” she said. “There really is a multiplying effect of us working with teachers and them working with their students and bringing paleontology out into the real world.”


Waldron Shale Project helps students learn through discovery Rob Weber The recent workshop attracted educators from 10 Kentucky counties, as well as teachers from Indiana and Ohio. They spent the day learning about inquiry-based learning opportunities to engage students. They also received materials and tools to take back to their classrooms, including buckets of rocks, cleaning tools, materials to identify fossils, a digital microscope, measuring tools, and other items. The Waldron Shale Project started in 2015 as a professional development opportunity for teachers offered by Bulinski and Alan Goldstein, interpretive naturalist at Falls of the Ohio State Park in Clarskville, IN. The program has received an education and outreach grant from KAS and, more recently, funding from the Sam Shine Foundation. Bellarmine University and Falls of the Ohio State Park also provide logistical support for the program. Rocks and buckets are provided by Irving Materials, Inc., which allows shale containing fossils to be collected at its quarry in Sellersburg, IN. The shale found at the quarry provides particularly rich learning opportunities for students, Bulinski said. “The Waldron shale is a layer of rock from the Silurian period that was named for a location in Waldron, Ind. You can find it across the region, but there’s only certain places where it bears a lot of fossils,” Bulinski said. “The Waldron shale -- at least the part we’re getting -- is a very fossiliferous unit which makes it very satisfying. We can dig through the fossils and find beautiful specimens so there is something very satisfying about it. “There’s also a citizens’ science angle to this too because we are getting these bulk samples of shale that have fossils in them and we’re giving them out to schools and then the students discover what’s in there. We don’t necessarily know what’s in those buckets. When they discover it, they report it back to us. We can post pictures on our website and share it with everybody that’s involved with the project.” Bulinski said more than 100 teachers have been involved with the Waldron Shale Project since its beginning. “We expect that thousands of students have now had a chance to do the Waldron Shale Project,” she said. “There really is a multiplying effect of us working with teachers and them working with their students and bringing paleontology out into the real world.”
KAS Newsletter - July 2022