Summer Fossil Camp At Museum

LaBelle Heritage Museum will sponsor Scott Perry's always popular one week Summer Fossil Camps again this July.  Perry attended school in LaBelle and became an amateur physical archeologist at an early age; he studied pre-human archeology as a student at FSU, and has continued to share his interest and knowledge of fossils abounding in the Caloosahatchee Valley for close to 20 years.  He has scheduled Monday through Friday fossil camps at LaBelle Heritage Museum, 360 North Bridge St. in LaBelle, for the last four Mondays in July -- the 10th, 17th, 24th and 3lst. 

 

The campers, ranging in age from 8 to 13 years-old, will learn about fossil identification and preservation during morning sessions at the museum starting at 8 a.m.  Later in the day, they will put what they learn in the morning sessions to practical use by going "out in the field" to known fossil sites on or near the Caloosahatchee River to see what they can discover.  Usually no more than 10 weekly campers will eat the bag lunches they have brought from home in the field; however, the museum has enrolled in the USDA sponsored Summer Feed Program and hopes to offer a nutritious breakfast at the first three one-week fossil camps.  (The last day of the 2017 Summer Feed Program is Friday, July 28, meaning it will not be available for the camp scheduled to begin on July 31.)  Fossil camp will provide water and healthy snacks along with sun-screen, fossil collecting bags and tools.

 

The tuition for each week is $150 with a limited number of full or partial scholarships available.  Campers will be provided with mandatory life vests, necessary whenever they are on or near water, if they do not have their own which should be brought daily.  They are also required to wear close-toed shoes, both in and out of the water, at all times.  Caps or sun visors are suggested for the daily "field exercises."  Parents are reminded the campers will probably be covered with mud and clay at the end of each session and are advised to cover vehicle seats with a tarp or other means of protection.

 

Information about the Summer Fossil Camps with a registration form is available by contacting LaBelle Heritage Museum and will also be available at Barron Library, please call (863) 674-0034 and leave your name and email address if you would like the forms emailed to you as a .pdf file. The museum does accept Visa, MasterCard, and Discover for the $150 registration fee.