14.10.2025 00:27
In Karaman, 12-year-old middle school student Bahar Alime Eren established a fossil museum with nearly 5,000 fossils that she has been collecting with her family since she was 6 years old.
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Seventh-grade student Bahar Alime Eren from Karaman has collected thousands of fossils during nature trips with her family over the past six years.
ESTABLISHED HER OWN MUSEUM
Eren, who donated some of the fossils she collected to various museums, started exhibiting the remaining fossils at the Yasin Yıldırım Science Museum, opened with the support of the TEMA Foundation within the Karaman Science and Art Center (BİLSEM). Meanwhile, the fossils that Bahar Alime Eren exhibited at the "Joyful Journey of Discovery-2" TÜBİTAK 4007 Science Festival attracted great interest.
"KARAMAN WAS ONCE AN INLAND SEA"
Providing information about the museum they created with the fossils they collected as a family, Bahar Alime Eren said, "We found these fossils from Karaman's inland sea. Karaman used to be an inland sea without a coastline, like the Caspian Sea, and it extended as far as Konya. This sea hosted a large number of living beings. We collected the fossils of these marine creatures so that students can better learn about Karaman's ecosystem and biodiversity."
Eren stated that they donated some of the fossils to the Hacettepe University Biosphere Museum, saying, "There, students examine these fossils to learn about our country's biodiversity, history, and value. The museum at Hacettepe is known as the largest school museum in Turkey. The museum we established in Karaman is located in front of the biology classroom at BİLSEM and exhibits fossils with endemic species," she said.
"COLLECTING FOSSILS IS BOTH FUN AND EDUCATIONAL"
Expressing that her interest in fossils started at a young age, Eren said, "I have been collecting fossils while traveling with my family since I was 6 years old. This made our trips enjoyable and I learned a lot. Now, thanks to our museum at Karaman BİLSEM, other students also have the opportunity to see and learn about fossils up close."
Bahar Alime Eren, who stated that she is receiving education in the field of general talent at BİLSEM, expressed that conducting scientific discoveries, researching, and sharing what she has learned makes her very happy.
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