Schoolgirl discovers 270 million year-old fossils

Rotary Club of Jomtien-Pattaya presents 295 bicycles to Banglamung students

Lessons flourish in school garden

Schoolgirl discovers 270 million year-old fossils

A 17 year-old schoolgirl from Mukda Han Province has discovered fossils dating back 270 million years near a relative’s house in Chaiyaphum Province.

Suriwan Nuancharoen, a M5 student at Nong Sung Samakiwhithaya School, whose fossil project is part of a ‘genius development’ project run jointly by the National Science and Technology Development Agency and the Office of the Research Support Fund, said that she discovered the fossils by pure coincidence while visiting relatives in Tuek Laeng village.

Suriwan said that she had been given the strange looking stones by the villagers, who believed them to be insect cocoons, and who gave them to visitors believing them to be items imbued with sacred significance.

Curious as to what the stones were, she had proposed her project to the NSTDA’s genius development scheme, which selected her as one of 100 recipients of a research award and allowed her to work in conjunction with Dr Somchai Nakhaphadungrat from Chulalongkorn University and Dr Yoshio Chato from Japan.

Working together with the scientists, she conducted detailed research on the stones, and found to her immense surprise that they were in fact coprolite, the fossilized feces of ancient reptiles from the Permian era around 270 million years ago, before the age of the dinosaurs.

Dr Yoshio said that her discovery marked the first time that coprolite from rare animals had been found in Thailand, as in the past such fossils had only been found in New Mexico. He said that the Thai fossils were particularly impressive as they were almost complete.

Describing the fossils, he said that they were black, and that the large specimens were like a long spiral with a diameter of five centimeters at the widest point, 15 centimeters long and five centimeters wide. The skin was smooth, and careful examination showed a series of concentric circles. The fossils also contained phosphate, fish scales and bone matter.

The Japanese scientist speculated that the fossils had probably come about due to the build up of sediment from the sea or a shallow lake. However, he said that it was extremely difficult to tell which animals the fossilized feces had come from, although it was probable that it came from fish-like reptiles. (TNA)

Rotary Club of Jomtien-Pattaya presents 295 bicycles to Banglamung students

Songklod Kaewvisit

One of the Rotary’s most imaginative and useful projects is their ‘bikes for kids’ nation-wide campaign, which will eventually provide the kingdom’s most needy children with bicycles as transport back and forth to school. Their target of 10,000 bicycles comes ever closer, and children attending Banglamung Schools received the latest installment of 295 bicycles.

Rotarians from the Rotary Club of Jomtien-Pattaya and the Rotary Club of Pijnakcer-Nootdorp & Rotary District 1600 in the Netherlands donated 295 bicycles in a small ceremony at the Banglamung Education Office last Tuesday afternoon.

Children attending Banglamung Schools were very happy to receive all these bicycles from the Rotary Clubs.

Rotarians from the Rotary Club of Jomtien Pattaya and Eric Laurent representing the Rotary Club of Pijnakcer-Nootdorp & Rotary District 1600 in the Netherlands handed over the bicycles in a small ceremony at the Banglamung Education Office last Tuesday afternoon.

The project aims to help children from poor families in rural areas overcome the obstacle of transportation to and from school. Since some students are forced to walk long distances to class and the hardship often results in dropping out of school, these bikes will help the children continue their education.

Rotary International President Bhichai Rattakul said that the project is soliciting the donation of 10,000 bicycles around the country at a cost of approximately 15 million baht. So far, the project has received support from 41 Rotary Clubs in Thailand, 21 clubs abroad, bicycle manufacturers, and a group of Rotarians from 11 countries including Australia, England, Hong Kong, Malaysia, the Philippines, Scotland, Taiwan, and the U.S.

Somjet Lertwillai, head of the office of primary school education for Banglamung gratefully received the bicycles on behalf of the children in Banglamung District. Somjet thanked Rotarians for their generosity and said the bicycles would be used in the best possible way to facilitate the education of disadvantaged children in the district.

“Thank you for recognizing the importance of our children. They are the cornerstone of our country’s future. It is people like Rotarians who have a great impact on promoting the importance of education in today’s society,” said Somjet.

Jomtien-Pattaya Rotary Club president, Bruno Keller presided over the donation ceremonies, with members from Jomtien Pattaya, the Rotarians from the Netherlands and school children in attendance.

The last bicycle donation occurred in February when Rotarians handed over 300 bicycles to children in Sriracha.

Lessons flourish in school garden

The years 5-6 and 7-8 students at the International School of Pattaya are seen here in a small section of their garden, where science teacher Mr. Roberts supervises practical biology sessions where the students gain hands on experience growing their own crops.

Mr Rob and students planting seeds.

Year 6

Year 7 & 8

The students are able to track the life of vegetables from seed to dinner table. It is magical for the kids to water a seed and watch it grow or to find out why it did not grow. This year the students are growing lettuce, cabbages, corn, tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers and beans.

A big plus for the students is that their gardening knowledge is carried over to their computer classes where they develop a PowerPoint project based on their vegetable patch.