This unit was developed to introduce students to fossil collecting in the field. For years I had shown my students fossils with a brief description about their origin and formation. Upon further questioning on one occasion I realized that they had no way of conceptionalizing the area in Western New York I was attempting to describe to them. Obviously Eastern, North Carolina and Western New York are pretty different in terms of topography and geology. Additionally, few or none of my students had ever had the opportunity to collect fossils from the field, a pleasure I have enjoyed for most of my life. So, I decided that the Kenan Fellowship would be a great opportunity to share.