Displays in Natural Science and news about the Gift Shop

Gilboa Museum

Natural History Wall

There are four themes shown on our current Natural Science wall. However, all of them have undergone some changes with the publication of a new book published by the Gilboa Historical Society, and we will be revising the entire wall this fall.  The book is Stein-Hernick-Mannolini: The Catskills Fossil Forests, 2022, and you can get it here in the Gift Shop.

• • Early discoveries and collections of fossils from the Devonian period.
  • A major discovery made in 2005 in Conesville;
  • A new mapping technology developed for a new fossil forest in 2010; and
  • The 2018 Cairo discovery of a modern root system in a significantly older fossil forest.

Because of the reputation of Winifred Goldring and the strength of her documentation on the Gilboa fossils, 20th century work done 1930 had not been sufficiently integrated into paleontological literature. We will be updating that missing history.

The  discovery of a single, 26 foot fossil with roots, trunk, and crown made major news in 2005. However, with further study, hindsight, and new pictures (in this case, a 3-D reproduction of the crown that can be seen nowhere else), we will improve our presentation .

When the NYC DEP started excavating the reservoir spillway in 2010, they found an older fossil forest within a few hundred feet from the Riverside Quarry. This team developed new techniques for excavating the site, cleaning and recording the information, and then mapping it for future study. 

And finally, in 2018, Dr. Chuck Ver Staeten’s team found a large, modern-style root system of a tree in a fossil forest. This would be no big deal, with the exception that it was a new modern tree and it was found in a fossil forest significantly more ancient that of our Gilboa forests.

Gift Shop

The Gift Shop in the original Museum was basically a closet with a single door and no windows. It could hold about 2-3 people and was not an attractive place to spend your money. And it was even worse in 2020 and social distancing.

Nick Juried recognized that the Gift Shop should be a market, and ours did not measure up. He didn’t want to make it into a huge or high-end retail outlet, but he did think that it should look appropriate for the museum have.

We ended up using the same space, bur hired Amish craftsman to turn the Gift Shop around. They took out the front (non-bearing) wall, used subway tile to brighten the space, and added shelving for books, toys, etc. Nelta has tapped members who are interested in the individual  product lines, and the number of sales had soared. We have a shop that draws people in, and product lines for children, families, and seniors.