Morrill Hall's 'Sunday Scientist' explores rocks and minerals Dec. 18

         Geology rocks! The University of Nebraska State Museum's next Sunday with a Scientist program for children and families will explore rocks and minerals. The program will take place Dec. 18 from 1:30-4:30 p.m. at Morrill Hall, south of 14th and Vine streets on the UNL City Campus.

            What is the difference between a rock and a mineral? What causes them to glow, crystallize, or take on vibrant colors? Visitors will learn answers to these questions and more from scientists from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences and the University of Maine, along with members of the Lincoln Gem and Mineral Club. They will also discover how we encounter minerals in our daily lives. Visitors are encouraged to bring a rock or mineral to the museum to be identified.

            The event will be led by the following scientists:

• Matt Joeckel, a geologist in the UNL School of Natural Resources and Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, and curator of geology in the museum. His main areas of expertise are sedimentology, the study of sediments and their environments of deposition, and stratigraphy, the study of rock and sediment layers, environmental geology (including groundwater), mineral resources, terrestrial paleoecology and paleoclimatology, and geomorphology.
• Ed Grew, research professor in the Department of Earth Sciences at the University of Maine in Orono. He has worked on nine Antarctic expeditions supported by the United States, Japan, Australia and the former Soviet Union, including wintering over at the Soviet station Molodezhnaya in 1973. During his career as a mineralogist, he has discovered 11 new mineral species. He chairs an international committee working on the nomenclature of the garnet group.
• Priscilla Grew, director of the University of Nebraska State Museum and professor in the UNL Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences. Her doctoral thesis involved research on metamorphic rocks and garnets.

            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 will share scientific information in a fun and informal way through demonstrations, activities, or by conducting their science on site. Sunday with a Scientist programs are 1:30 to 4:30 p.m. at Morrill Hall on the third Sunday of each month.

            The 2012 calendar of Sunday with a Scientist events will be announced in January. For updates on the Sunday with a Scientist schedule and other museum information, visit www.museum.unl.edu.

            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.

Writer: Dana Ludvik, Public Relations Coordinator, NU State Museum, 402-472-3779