Geology museums of mainland Europe: A new systematic fossil collection in the Möns Klint GeoCenter
Hans-Henrik Meyer (Denmark)
This article was written in 2011. While some of it is clearly out of date, hopefully it is still relerant for those wishing to visit the museum.
The Möns Klint GeoCenter continually strives to improve the understanding of life in the Chalk Sea of 70 million years ago. Therefore, a systematic collection of fossils from the Chalk Sea has long been sought after for the GeoCenter, to complete the highlights of Mr Vang Ove Jensen’s private collection that was donated to the GeoCenter.
Fig. 1. Hans-Henrik buried in fossils.
The Möns Klint GeoCenter is Scandinavia’s largest (1,200m²) and most up-to-date discovery centre, containing exhibits about all geological aspects of life in the Chalk Sea of 70 million years ago. In the spring of 2011, I was hired by the centre as project manager and fossil expert, in particular, in connection with the palaeontology of Möns Klint. However, on arrival, it was clear that my problem was that there were simply not enough fossils at the centre to be able to establish a systematic collection.
Fig. 2. The systematic fossil collection.
Fossil collecting weekend
For this reason, the Möns Klint GeoCenter issued an invitation to fossil collectors to visit on the weekend of 21 to 22 May 2011 between 10am and 4pm. The invitation read as follows:
We are happy to accept anything from single sea urchins to entire fossil collections. The manager, Nils Natorp, would like to point out that your fossil may be just what the GeoCenter is looking for to complete its collection.
We are sure that many people have splendid fossils from the chalk cliffs that are lying around in their homes and we would like to encourage them to take part in the weekend event. We promise lifetime free entry to exhibitions at the Möns Klint GeoCenter for those people whose fossils are selected for the catalogued collection. We see this as the very least the GeoCenter can offer in return for submitted fossils! The Möns Klint GeoCenter exhibitions will be unbelievably fascinating and represent a gripping journey back in time 70 million years ago to a period when the most superior predator of the sea, the mosasaurs, was alive. This creature was up to 17 metres in length and was an extremely fast killing machine, with large needle-tipped teeth. The killer whale of today is, in comparison to this beast, merely a lame tortoise! …
Hans-Henrik Meyer, the Project Manager responsible for the collection, asks you to be kind enough to empty out your drawers, so that your fantastic finds can be added to our collection. This will be set up in accordance with international standards and the fossils will be organised by affinity, families and species. The new exhibition will finally make a big dream a reality, not least for foreign visitors, who have particularly asked for a proper scientific evaluation of chalk fossil material from Möns Klint …
Möns Klint is incredibly beautiful and impressive at this time of the year, particularly the walk through the beech forest and ravine from the GeoCenter to the beach. You can enjoy a view of the almost 128 metre-high chalk cliffs, which seem to compete with the sun against the deep-blue beauty of the Baltic Sea.
Seize the opportunity to discover this unique part of Denmark and give future generations the chance to be amazed and captivated by the imposing fauna of the ‘Chalk Sea’. Give your fossils a new lease of life in the Möns Klint GeoCenter. We look forward to seeing you over the weekend of 21 to 22 May 2011.”
Fig. 3. Searching for fossils at the beach.
Many exciting fossils
During the course of the weekend, approximately 30 people donated their fossils to the exhibition. In total, just over 250 fossils were donated, ranging from the very common to the very rare. I also got permission from eight different collectors and two museums to display their fossils. The loans are valid for two years and the Möns Klint GeoCenter hopes to be able to obtain similar fossils from donations or by buying them during this time.
Had we missed anything?
After receiving the donated and lent fossils, we had visits by many collectors from Möns Klint and from various other amateur geologists. These visits gave me a good insight into the fossils that should be on display and made me aware of what was missing from the collection. Unfortunately, there is no book on the fauna of the Chalk Sea of the Möns Klint area, but literature about various other Chalk Sea areas offers important information about the fauna here. I have set out a list of some of the better ones at the end of this article.
After a few months sorting and selecting fossils, the following facts became very clear…
Flint fossils for tourists – chalk fossils for professionals
Ninety percent of the submitted fossils are preserved in flint. The remaining 10% are preserved in chalk and these are all loaned from reputable and professional fossil collectors. The chalk fossils display much more detail than the flint ones and, at the same time, it appears that a large proportion of microfossils only ever appear as chalk fossils.
The selection of the individual fossils was carried out in several steps. To start with, all fossils that had been previously donated to the GeoCenter were examined and sorted, and then the newly submitted fossils were added to the collection. After this, I visited various collectors with a wish list of fossils that were lacking from the exhibition. In the end, the number of fossils was overwhelming, the spaces were quickly occupied and the final choice could then be made.
Display cases
Fig. 4. The start of the history – the coccolith.
My colleague, Maks Bragt, was responsible for the design and layout of the fossil display cases. Maks is an industry designer, IT manager, and sound and lighting Designer. After a few meetings, we decided on the size and design of the display cases. After subsequent meetings, the display cases began to be developed with the delivery of further fossils. The exhibits were to be illuminated with energy-efficient LED lights and every LED lamp would be fixed with an ancillary lens to gather or diffuse the light. This offered an excellent opportunity to create a good contrast to the often very white fossils in blocks of chalk in the display cases.
Fig. 5. The fossil exhibition.
An aluminium ‘plate’, with small indentations for microfossils, was incorporated into each side of both display cases. The intention was for visitors to be able to turn the plate with a handle to gain a magnified view of the fossils through a mini video camera. A picture could then be shown on two 53.5cm flat screens mounted behind the plate. Unfortunately, the mini video cameras were detained at customs and did not arrive on time for the opening of the exhibition. After the peak season they were added to the exhibition.
Fig. 6. Galeritis sea urchins.
Where are the snails?
Snails are very poorly represented in the fauna of the cretaceous period and all fossil snails consist of aragonite. In Möns Klint, the increased depths of the sea tended to result in the aragonite shells. In contrast to the chalk sediments at Stevns Klint and at Aalborg Portland, where several species of snail are known, virtually no snail fossils have been found among the fauna in Möns Klint. Only one snail is included in the collection and is preserved as a flint imprint. This is a tower snail (family: Turritellidae). The reason for the shortage in snails is to do with the fact that snail shells are made from Aragonite, which quickly dissolves when the animal (snail) dies.
The same applies to ammonites and nautiloids, but several types of these fossils are known from the area preserved as a filling in flint. A small number of these are on display in the exhibition.
Otherwise, almost all known fossils from the chalk fauna are well represented in the exhibition. Not surprisingly, sea sponges feature a lot in the collection, as do echinoderms that are well represented in their various forms. For reasons of space, all the fossils are organised by physical size and by types.
We still need …
Fig. 7. Belemnites.
Those fossils that are not added to the exhibition will either be put to use in the classrooms or will be used in the workshop. Möns Klint GeoCenter receives visits from over 350 school classes every year. These visits help young people get acquainted with the rock below their feet and they offer them valuable information about the birth of Denmark. Our teaching requires lots of fossils, geological literature and microscopes, as well as expeditions to the fossil beach. However, since opening, we have been fortunate enough to have been donated several interesting fossils from GeoCenter visitors for the new exhibition.
Fig. 8. The Möns Klint GeoCenter.
The fossil exhibition opened on June 2011 in the Möns Klint GeoCenter, and is now a permanent feature. It is our greatest hope that we can extend the exhibition over time and that we can increase the content and the number of fossils on display. Therefore, should any reader know about the existence of, or have found interesting fossils from, Möns Klint, we would be very grateful to hear from you.
Why not come and visit us?
Since the exhibition opened, I have been amazed that Möns Klint annually attracts over 300,000 visitors, who all manage to find fossils in the chalkstone cliffs. There is a rule on Möns Klint that you may collect as many fossils as you like, however, you must personally carry these back up the stairs up the cliffs.
Pay us a visit and take a look for yourself at the newly catalogued fossil exhibition.
Further information Opening times: Opening times 2o13 23 March to 28 September – open from 10:00 to 17:00 29 September to 11 August – open from 10:00 to 18:00 12 August to 31 October – open from 10:00 to 17:00 Open seven days a week.
Admission tickets (in Danish Crowns)
Adults:
115
Children (3 to 11 years old):
70
OAPs (65+):
90
Group of adults (10+ people):
90
Group of OAPs (10+ people):
80
School classes charged per student, together with two free teachers for every class:
75
One hour with guide (please book in advance):
500
Season tickets 2013 When you purchase an admission ticket, you automatically receive a season ticket that gives you free entry to the GeoCenter until 31.10.2013 (that is, every year from the start of the season to the end of October) and to all expeditions at Möns Klint. This means that you can take part in the ‘Morning Run’, the ‘GPS Run’, the ‘Mountain Bike Expedition’ and the ‘Treetop Expedition’, as well as in expeditions to the fossil beach – all free of charge. So, remember to transfer your admission ticket into a season ticket before you go home. This is done by filling out the admission ticket and then having a hole-punched at reception. It doesn’t cost a thing. However, this does not apply for group tickets.
There is paid for parking in the Möns Klint car park. In the Möns Klint GeoCenter, you will also find the ‘Orchidee’ shop, where you can purchase literature, fossils, arts and crafts, sweets, ice cream and so on. Our cosy restaurant, ‘Sommerspiret’, is situated right at the top of Möns Klint and can be found on the first floor of the GeoCenter. This has the same opening times as the GeoCenter.
In the Möns Klint GeoCenter, you can go on fossil expeditions to the beach, work with microscopes and pursue your creative stone ideas in our workshop. School groups and clubs can hire the classrooms in the GeoCenter for lessons or for geological group activities. With the admission ticket, you also get entry to Denmark’s best 3D cinema. The other cinema in the GeoCenter (Glacier Cinema) shows non-stop nature and geology films.
References
Møns Klints geologi. V. Hintze. Reitzel, 1937. 410 p. In Danish.
Fossiler fra Stevns Klint, Møn og Nordjylland. Alice Rasmussen, Thomas Hansen, leif Rasmussen. Østsjællands Museum 2011. 89 p. Parallel texts in Danish, English and German.
Skrivekridtets fossiler. Palle Gravesen, Sten Lennart Jakobsen. Gyldendal, 2012. 153. p. In Danish.
Palæontologi: fossile invertebrater. H. Wienbeerg Rasmussen. Munksgaard, 1969. 421 p. In Danish.
Fossils of the Chalk. Ed. by B. Smith, David J. Button. The Palaeontological Association, 2002. 374 p. In English.
Bestimmungsschlüssel der Seeigel (Echinoides) der Weissen Schreibkreide (Kreide, Unter-Maastrichitum) von Rügen (Deutschland) und Mön (Dänemark). Manfred Kutscher. Rudolph, 2003. (Erratica bd. 5. ) 43 p. In German.
Bestem dine fossiler fra Møns Klingt. Hans-Henrik Meer, Torbjørn Madsen. Dansk Fossilforsyning, 2006. printeet paper, 6 p. Texts in Danish, German and English.
Handbuch des Fossilliensammlers. Andreas E. Richter. Franckh, 1981. 461 p. In German.
