Falls of the Ohio State Park Upgrade

On October 23, 2009 the Indiana State Budget Committee approved half a million dollars to update the exhibits as the Falls of the Ohio State Park Interpretive Center. The money will be matched by the Brown Foundation bring the park closer to raising the 3.9 million dollars to pay for the project.

The upgrades will probably include an updated film, new entry way, refreshed lobby exhibits, and interactive displays for the history and paleontological resources the park represents. The plans are now being worked on by Solid Light, Inc. of Louisville, Kentucky. The current design for the Interpretive Center was finished back in 1994. This new project hopes to be completed by March 2012.

Material for this post was gleaned from a Courier Journal article entitled "Indiana Approves $500,000 for Falls of the Ohio Exhibits" by Lesley Stedman Weidenbener published October 23, 2009.

One quote from state representative Steve Stemler of Jeffersonville I especially liked from the article, "The fossil bed is one of our community's great scientific resources,".

Bryozoan Hallopora perelegans

This bryozoan is from Benton County, Tennessee. It existed in the Lower Devonian Period and was found in the Birdsong Formation. The bryozoan was called Hallopora perelegans.

Thanks to Herb for providing the specimen.

Permian Period Brachiopods

The following pictures are of brachiopods from the Permian Period. The specimens are on display at the natural history museum in Paris, France.

This first brachiopod is a Neospirifer ravana from Greenland.


This next set of brachiopod fossils are called "Terebratula" sufflata and I believe they were found in Germany.


This brachiopod is called Neospirifer alatus and I believe it was found in Germany.


These brachiopod fossils are called Neochonetes granulifer and were found in America.


These brachiopod fossils are called "Athyris" pectinifera and were found in Russia.