PaleoMuseu

PaleoMuseu is the first Portuguese virtual fossil museum. With your help we can buy the necessary equipment to digitize parts!

The knowledge gained through the study of fossils has allowed researchers from around the world to interpret the History of the Earth.

Since the creation of the Offices of Curiosities and the first Natural History Museums in Portugal that the fossil pieces collected in the field have been cataloged and organized so that the public can access them. However, with the increasing number of collections present in our country, storage, access and study thereof have become increasingly complicated. 

At this point, via our preliminary study, we have discovered more than 60 museums, educational institutions (primary, secondary and tertiary) and research, with paleontological collections that are not known by the general public and researchers in Paleontology. 

Thus, with the growing national and international interest in the field of paleontology, PaleoMuseu is the project that has been created to address this issue. As the name implies, this project consists of a  museum of paleontological collections. However, its base is purely virtual, lying on a website and its own domain with an associated database, where we put all specimens cataloged by the team. 

A website with portuguese paleontological collections permit easier access to anyone, without travelling or prior authorization required, just an internet connection, either by computer or other mobile devices. 

On the other hand, the PaleoMuseu hopes to contribute to the education and scientific dissemination, through the creation of galleries of studied and not studied specimens containing information about each piece, with photographs and 3D scale models, which will allow students and researchers, national and international, to develop work on the collections. 

Started in a master's degree's discipline in May 2014, our project has already developed far beyond our initial expectations and has progressed in the phases that compose it. However, due to lack of external financing, we are limited to the photographic record of the pieces in a 2D format, which prevents us from achieving the objectives mentioned above. 

The 1700€ goal we aim to raise from this campaign are the funding we need to buy the appropriate materials for digitization of fossil pieces in 3D and for the processing of data resulting from it, so that they can integrate the virtual collections of PaleoMuseu.

About the author

The team of PaleoMuseu consists of three elements: 

Joana Damas - degree in Biology at the University of Évora. | She is currently in the second year of the new Masters’ degree of Paleontology in Portugal, resulting from the partnership between the University of Évora and the Faculty of Science and Technology, “Universidade Nova” Lisbon, to develop a thesis in Palaeoecology of echinoderms. | In the future she wants to be an expert on paleoecology of marine invertebrates. 

Review on funding through crowdfunding: 

"The 3D scanning of some fossils will allow a detailed view of the most spectacular specimens, valuing the Portuguese paleontological heritage." 

Pedro Fialho - degree in Biology at the University of Évora. | He is currently in the second year of the new Masters of Paleontology in Portugal, resulting from the partnership between the University of Évora and the Faculty of Science and Technology, “Universidade Nova” Lisbon, to develop a thesis on biodiversity and Paleoecology of selacean (sharks and rays) of a Portuguese deposit located in Costa da Caparica. | In the future he wants to be an expert on extinct fish taxa, focusing on the study of sharks and rays. 

Review of funding through crowdfunding: 

"After a few setbacks in the development of this project, this type of financing is the answer we needed. The money that we propose to raise in this campaign, with the help of the people, is what separates the current PaleoMuseu from the next level, making our ideas a reality and allowing manipulation of distant fossil pieces by visitors. "

Ricardo Brancas - student at Middle School Gabriel Pereira, Évora, in the area of science and technology. | He wants to go next year to the “Instituto Superior Técnico” for the course of Computer Engineering. 

Review of funding through crowdfunding: 

"Funding for this project will enable the realization of high-quality 3D scans of fossils. This technology will allow viewing 3D copies of specimens in its entirety and at all angles, so that anyone can, anywhere, see the specimen as if he truly were in they’re front. "

 

A Equipa do PaleoMuseu

Budget and due dates

Images