Earth Science Club of Northern Illinois - ESCONI

Events for June 2013

Fri 6/14

ESCONI General Meeting 8:00 p.m. College of Dupage,  - Tech Ed (TEC) Building, Room 1038B (Map) Topic: Cary Easterday, Northeastern University Illinois, Summer 2013 Options and Activities for ESCONI members, including a scavenger hunt. The Chicagoland area offers many museums, parks, special events, and activities for ESCONI members.  I explore these places throughout the year searching for new materials or field trips for my students in Geology and Earth Sciences at Northeastern Illinois University.  I suspect that most ESCONI members THINK they know these places very well, but will be surprised by what they may have missed, new temporary exhibits for 2013 only, or else exhibits that have changed over the years.  I will discuss these special places and exhibits to the ESCONI members, including the Field Museum, Shedd Aquarium, Adler Planetarium, Museum of Science and Industry, Brookfield Zoo, Magnificent Mile, Chicago History Museum, Art Institute, Magnificent Mile, Chicago Botanic Gardens, Garfield Park Conservatory, Oriental Institute, and Chicago Portage National Historical Site.  At the end of the talk I will then challenge the ESCONI membership to a scavenger hunt, for which I will provide answers in Fall 2013.

Fri 6/22

ESCONI Board Meeting. 7:30 p.m. College of Dupage, Tech Ed Build. TEC 1038B  (Map)

X-rays reveal new picture of 'dinobird' plumage patterns

Via the University of Machester:

The first complete chemical analysis of feathers from Archaeopteryx, a famous fossil linking dinosaurs and birds, reveals that the feathers of this early bird were patterned – light in colour, with a dark edge and tip to the feather – rather than all black, as previously thought.

How Did Feathers Evolve?

This is well done -

 

New Mineral Named for Seaman Museum Curator - georgerobinsonite

Via Michigan Tech News:

A new mineral discovered in the Mammoth-St. Anthony mine in Arizona has been named georgerobinsonite. The mineral is named after George W. Robinson, professor of mineralogy and curator of Michigan Tech's A. E. Seaman Mineral Museum. It is a lead chromate—a salt of chromic acid—that occurs as minute, transparent, orange-red crystals on cerussite, another lead carbonate and secondary lead mineral....

- See more at: http://www.mtu.edu/news/stories/2012/february/story63798.html#sthash.C5jjSKRY.dpuf

A new mineral discovered in the Mammoth-St. Anthony mine in Arizona has been named georgerobinsonite. The mineral is named after George W. Robinson, professor of mineralogy and curator of Michigan Tech's A. E. Seaman Mineral Museum. It is a lead chromate—a salt of chromic acid—that occurs as minute, transparent, orange-red crystals on cerussite, another lead carbonate and secondary lead mineral.

The publication Mineral News reported on the newly named mineral in its February 2012 issue.

- See more at: http://www.mtu.edu/news/stories/2012/february/story63798.html#sthash.C5jjSKRY.dpuf

A new mineral discovered in the Mammoth-St. Anthony mine in Arizona has been named georgerobinsonite. The mineral is named after George W. Robinson, professor of mineralogy and curator of Michigan Tech's A. E. Seaman Mineral Museum. It is a lead chromate—a salt of chromic acid—that occurs as minute, transparent, orange-red crystals on cerussite, another lead carbonate and secondary lead mineral.

The publication Mineral News reported on the newly named mineral in its February 2012 issue.

- See more at: http://www.mtu.edu/news/stories/2012/february/story63798.html#sthash.C5jjSKRY.dpuf

The Oldest Primate To Date

Via Smithsonian:

The near-complete fossil of a tiny creature unearthed in China in 2002 has bolstered the idea that the anthropoid group of primates — whose modern-day members include monkeys, apes and humans — had appeared by at least 55 million years ago. The fossil primate does not belong to that lineage, however: it is thought to be the earliest-discovered ancestor of small tree-dwelling primates called tarsiers,...

 

2 Minute Geology Video

Do You Know About The Soon To Be Announced ESCONI Scavenger Hunt?

Friday, June 14 - ESCONI General Meeting 8:00 p.m. College of Dupage,  - Tech Ed (TEC) Building, Room 1038B (Map) Topic: Cary Easterday, Northeastern University Illinois, Summer 2013 Options and Activities for ESCONI members, including a scavenger hunt.

The Chicagoland area offers many museums, parks, special events, and activities for ESCONI members.  I explore these places throughout the year searching for new materials or field trips for my students in Geology and Earth Sciences at Northeastern Illinois University. 

I suspect that most ESCONI members THINK they know these places very well, but will be surprised by what they may have missed, new temporary exhibits for 2013 only, or else exhibits that have changed over the years. 

I will discuss these special places and exhibits to the ESCONI members, including the Field Museum, Shedd Aquarium, Adler Planetarium, Museum of Science and Industry, Brookfield Zoo, Magnificent Mile, Chicago History Museum, Art Institute, Magnificent Mile, Chicago Botanic Gardens, Garfield Park Conservatory, Oriental Institute, and Chicago Portage National Historical Site. 

At the end of the talk I will then challenge the ESCONI membership to a scavenger hunt, for which I will provide answers in Fall 2013.