Opening 280 million year old Mazon Creek Fossils

Opening a few freshly cracked Mazon Creek locality fossils from the coal pits of Illinois. These are cracked open using the freeze / thaw method, which involves no hammering at all. After a soak in water, the water enters the pores of the stone and works its way inside to the fossil. After being placed in a freezer, the water turns to ice; which expands inside the fossil , cracking open the fossil naturally, and perfectly, without any flaws, ready for a museum display.

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Did you find these at pit 11?

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Pit 1. Thx for watching!

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Are all the pits public? I would like to go to one next spring but I don’t know who to ask lol