Biodiversity
Brain
EntomOLogy
Genetics
Marine BiOLogy
MicrobiOLogy
PaleontOLogy
ZoOLogy
AnthropOLogy
ArchaeOLogy
Astronomy
Climate Change
Earth
Physics
Water
Just the Bones, Please!
Amy began her career studying sculpture, and then moved on to collecting skeletons. One of her first jobs for a museum was to remove the flesh from animal specimens that had died in zoos, washed up on the beach, or were killed on the road. The museum was gathering a collection of skeletons to study and only wanted the bones. To get rid of the flesh, Amy would carefully cut away the meat and then feed the remaining flesh on the bone to a colony of meat-eating beetles. As the clean skeletons emerged, Amy would see how beautiful the bones were and how they fit together. This experience helped Amy in her current job as a fossil preparator at the American Musem of Natural History. In order to uncover dinosaur bones, she must know how the dinosaur's bones once fit together. Dinosaur skeletons are not always very different from those of modern animals, but they are made of rock!
Hometown: Mill Valley, California
Position: Senior Principal Preparator, Division of Paleontology
Education: B.A., Oberlin College
Known for: excellent fossil preparation
What kind of tools do preparators use to pick away rock from a fossil?
car mechanic tools
dentist tools
glass-blower tools
Correct!
Fossil preparator's tools resemble those of a dentist. There are lots of tiny picks and drills!
All fossil preparators must have a college degree in science.
Fiction
Fossil preparators come from different backgrounds. Amy Davidson has an art degree with course work in paleontology. A passion for science is a must!
Sometimes I freak myself out working under the microscope when I realize I'm working on an ear bone half the size of a pepper flake.
Amy Davidson
fossil preparator