Morrill Hall's Sunday Scientist offers fossil fun Oct. 16
Released on 10/05/2011, at 2:00 AM
Office of University Communications
University of Nebraska–Lincoln
WHEN: Sunday, Oct. 16, 2011
WHERE: University of Nebraska State Museum, south of 14th and Vine Streets
The University of Nebraska State Museum's next Sunday with a Scientist program will give children and families a chance to interact with paleontologists and bone up on fossils.
The event will be on Oct. 16 from 1:30 to 4:30 p.m. at Morrill Hall, south of 14th and Vine Streets on the University of Nebraska-Lincoln City Campus. Museum Sunday hours are 1:30-4:30 p.m. This event is held in conjunction with the American Geological Institute’s National Earth Science Week (Oct. 9-15) and National Fossil Day (Oct. 12).
Paleontologists from the University of Nebraska State Museum's Division of Vertebrate Paleontology will provide fossil fun through demonstrations and hands-on activities in Elephant Hall. Visitors will learn about Nebraska fossils, along with how scientists identify, prepare and study them. Children may also sort gravel for microfossils and investigate them through a microscope. Visitors are encouraged to bring in fossils to be identified.
The State Museum's collection of vertebrate fossils is internationally recognized as a resource for understanding our prehistoric past, as well as some of today's most important scientific concerns, such as climate change. More than 1 million rare and irreplaceable specimens have been added to the collection since 1891 when director Erwin H. Barbour (1891-1941) made his first fossil expedition to the Badlands of Nebraska and South Dakota. The division continues to make new discoveries today, applying modern field and laboratory techniques and conservation principles to fossil preparation, collections care, preservation and data recovery.
Sunday with a Scientist is a series of presentations that highlight the work of State Museum scientists and those from other UNL departments and institutions, while educating children and families on a variety of topics related to science and natural history. Presenters share scientific information in a fun and informal way through demonstrations, activities, or by conducting their science on site.
Upcoming Sunday with a Scientist Topics are Nov. 20 -- Viruses; Dec. 18 -- Minerals.
Established in 1871, the University of Nebraska State Museum is celebrating its 140th anniversary with public events and educational programming throughout the year. Hours are 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday-Wednesday and Friday-Saturday, 9:30 a.m.-8 p.m. Thursdays, and 1:30-4:30 p.m. Sundays. Admission is $5 for adults (19 and over), $3 for children (5-18 years, 4 and under are free), and $10 for families (up to two adults and children). UNL staff, faculty and students are admitted free with valid NU ID. There is an additional charge for planetarium shows. Parking is free in front of the museum.
Writer: Dana Ludvik, Public Relations Coordinator, NU State Museum, 402-472-3779, dludvik2@unl.edu
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Associated Media Files:
- State Museum preparator Greg Brown applies a silicone molding compound to the skeleton of juvenile rhino "Justin" in the Hubbard Rhino Barn at Ashfall Fossil Beds State Historical Park. Casts (replicas) made from this mold are now in the Marx Science Discovery Center at Morrill Hall where budding young paleontologists can try their hand (or brush) at excavating fossils.
- State Museum highway paleontologist Shane Tucker explains geologic features to a group of Nebraska science teachers at Scottsbluff National Monument.