January 14, 2000   "Innovative Reclamation Alternatives for Mining"

Karl Everett, Professional Geologist and Ex-President of ESCONI will talk about innovative reclamation ideas for quarry, sand and gravel, and mining operations.

February 11, 2000 "Agates - The Beautiful Lapidary Material"

Doris and Russ Kemp will talk about Agates. The slide program will briefly cover the history, composition, types and location where agates can be found. Objects made from this beaultiful material will be shown. Attendees can bring objects made of agates and specimens to show.

March 10, 2000 General Meeting Not Held Due to ESCONI Show

April 14, 2000   "Fossil Preparation and Research Projects At The Field Museum"

Lisa Bergwall and Jim Holstein will give a presentation on their jobs as fossil preparators at the Field Museum. Current vertebrate Paleontology research at the Field Museum include discovery of the earliest known dinosaurs, a new mammal found in Madagascar, the most primitive plesiosaur found in U.S. and in-depth study of the largest and most complete T-Rex known. All these important fossil finds have to be meticulously cleaned of rock by fossil preparators before scientist can study them.

 MAY 12, 2000      "Computer Modeling of Sauropod Neck Movement" by Dr. Michael Parris, Chairman of the Department of Biological Sciences at Northern Illinois University and Research Associate at the Field Museum

Sauropod dinosaur evolution is puzzling, because these giant herbivores were both abundant and diverse, particularly during the late Jurassic.  Michael Parrish and computer scientist Kent Stevens are testing the hypothesis that different sauropod species used their necks differently in feeding by modeling the entire necks of these animals with a three dimensional modeling program he developed called DinoMorph.   Parrish will discuss their results and their implications for both sauropod evolution and Jurassic ecology.   

For more information about the Field Museum, click on Field Museum

JUNE 9, 2000       "Archaeology in England" by Don Cronauer, ESCONI member

Don Cronauer, an ESCONI member and Lapidary Expert, will be giving a presentation on Archaeology in England.  The archaeology of Great Britain is an interesting field of study. There are a great number of prehistoric sites that are located in Britain. These sites range from rather elaborate megalithic tombs, stone circles, hillforts, standing stones, to the outlines of early communities. The sites of this slide presentation will center upon those between Neolithic times (2,000 - 4,000 B.C.E.) and the Roman Period. Emphasis will be

placed upon the area around Avebury (the massive stone circle, West Kennet Avenue and Long Barrow, and Silbury Hill) and various sites visited on the island of Anglesey in Northwest Wales. These sites are well preserved, and they are easily accessible to the public, particularly if one has a good map and reference books.