Distinctly Montana Magazine

D I S T I N C T L Y M O N T A N A M A G A Z I N E • S U M M E R 2 0 2 1 6 0 Take a Trip Through Time and Space A T EARTH'S TREASURES IN BOZEMAN, MONTANA, OWN- ER PATTI AND MANAGER GAIL ARE LOOKING FOR FIREWORKS NOISES. You know what we mean—the sudden, involuntary expressions of "ooh!" and "aah!" that accompany seeing something truly, well, cool. And it's not too long before they get one out of me, elicited by a close look at a Septarian Nodule. I examine it with a loupe, a small magnifying glass used by jewelers and gem nuts, and react with an amazed "wow!" "That's the fireworks noise," Patti laughs. As I talk with Patti and Gail, their excitement for geology and archae- ology palpable, my eye is drawn to glints and flashes of color all about the room: mounted butterflies, colorful geodes, million-year-old fossils, and a bumpy piece of stone that particularly attracts me. "Pick it up," they say. "Really feel it." I do, wondering what geologic pro- cess could possibly have created such a thing. "It's fossilized turtle poop," they tell me a moment later. Interesting. Never in my lifetime of experience have I seen poop that I would be more proud of having on a shelf. Earth's Treasures provides a unique educational experience for the whole family, with muse- um-quality pieces like a Tricer- atops brow horn complete with the unmistakable imprint of blood vessels on its surface, or a chunk of a meteorite that fell in China in the early 16th century. But it's also a place where a kid can walk in with two quarters in her pocket and leave with some- thing awesome that will last, well, forever. This happens so fre- quently, Patti says, that the store has an official policy regarding kids who are spending their own money—they get a discount. It's a savvy tactic designed to appeal to the "saggy pants kids." Those, they tell me, are the kids with their pockets weighed down with all of their treasures. Certainly kids love dinosaurs and poop. This much is inargu- able. But are they really into the finer points of geology? Why, yes! "One day," Patti says, "we had a kid who came in and asked if we have any moldavite. We said yes and walked him right over to it. His mother asked him, 'How in the world do you know what moldavite is?'" I admit to her that I don't know what moldavite is, but that it sounds like the resident of an East- ern European country. I happen to be in the shop be- cause it's my mom's birthday. She is an inveterate rockhound, but also considers a geode the kind of extravagance she couldn't justify buying. I figure maybe this would be the year to surprise her with one. But which one? What is the biggest piece of fossilized poop they have? But Patti and Gail are kind enough, not to mention wise, to lead me away from the fossilized Take a Trip Through Time and Space at Downtown Bozeman's Earth's Treasures! by JOSEPH SHELTON

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