Students from the Boxberry School in Oxford were treated to an in-school presentation of fossils and meteorites on Tuesday, December 20. Wrapping up the semester’s learning expedition on dinosaurs, Boxberry parent, Bruce Barrett brought many specimens of fossils and meteorites from the private collection of the Stifler Family as well as some of his own collection.

The students viewed fossilized remains of various shells, shark’s teeth, fish, plants and trees. Of particular note included in the presentation were shell fossils from Maine, fossilized fish from Wyoming and petrified tree slices from Oregon and Arizona.

The Boxberry students were also taught about various types of meteorites including iron meteorites, stony-iron meteorites and stone meteorites. These specimens included material from Mercury, Mars and the Moon, all of which had fallen to earth after impacts on those planets ejected material into space. Of particular note was one of the largest privately held slices of moon rock on earth, a diamond from space as well as world class pallasite slices. Pallasites are iron meteorites that contain a dramatic matrix of gem quality olivine crystals and are often cut into slices to allow the gem’s transluscent quality and rich color to be seen.

The presentation was fitting as a wrap up to the semester’s learning expedition because much of what we know of dinosaurs is from the fossil record and some of the fossils presented date to the same time period when dinosaurs roamed the earth. Also, one scientific theory which accounts for the mass extinction of dinosaurs was a large meteorite striking the earth near the Yucutan peninsula which caused the climate to cool, which did not allow for the survival of dinosaurs and many other species.

The specimens that are a part of the Stifler Family collection will be on display for the public in the Maine Gem and Mineral Museum in Bethel when it opens in late 2012.