Earth Science Club of Northern Illinois - ESCONI

Archaeology Meeting, Sat. 2/28

Archaeology Meeting, 7:30 pm, College of Dupage, Building K, Rm 131, "Otzi the Ice Man" by Vickie and Lexie Kiamco.

Links of interest:
South Tyrol Archaeologie Museum
Video on Finding the Ice Man

Next Field Trips - Geodes & Mazon Creek Fossils

Field Trip #2

April 4, 2009 - Jacob's Geodes, Hamilton, Illinois 9:00 A.M.

Meet at 9:00 am at 823 E. County Rd. 1220 in Hamilton, Illinois at Jacob's Geodes. $16 for a full 5-gallon pail.

Please call John Good at 630... for reservations or e-mail at esconi@hotmail.com

More information to come:
Field Trip #3 May 16, 2009 Braceville, Illinois 9:00 AM Mazon Creek Fossils
Field Trip #4 May 17, 2009 Braidwood, Illinois Mazon Creek Fossils

Fossils Come to Life with CT Scans

Interesting video discussion from Science Friday about how scientists are using CT technology to study bones and fossils.

Paleontology Meeting - Saturday 2/21 at 7:30 pm

Paleontology Meeting, 7:30 pm, College of Dupage, Building K - Rm 131.  Chris Cozert will speak on Mazon Creek flora and fauna.  Bring your Mazon Creek fossils!

Volunteers Needed for Mazon Creek Taxonomy Project

The Chicago Academy of Sciences (CAS), which operates the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum in Chicago, is looking for volunteers to help with a fossil taxonomy project.  They need individuals with expertise in identifying and verifying Mazon Creek and other local fossils.

The Academy has a collection of over 30,000 fossils, many of which have not been shown to the public.  Ultimately, it is hoped that the collection, once catalogued, will be available for public viewing on the Internet.  This is a great opportunity for our members to assist in a most worthy endeavor.  (Photo of Tully Monster from The Virtual Fossil Museum www.fossilmuseum.net)

For more information, contact Dawn Roberts, Collection Manager, CAS, Collection Facilities and Office, 4001 North Ravenswood, Chicago, IL  60613, 773-525-2164, droberts@naturemuseum.org.

General Meeting - Friday, February 13, 2009

It will be a lucky Friday the 13th for those attending the General Meeting at 8:00 pm in Room K-131. Cary Easterday from the Department of Earth Sciences, Northeastern Illinois University, will give us an updated and expanded version of his presentation from the 2002 Geological Society of America Annual Meeting entitled:

From Chasing Butterflies to Mazon Creek to Florissant: The Life and Research of Samuel Hubbard Scudder (1837 - 1911), Pioneer in the Study of Recent and Fossil Terrestrial Arthropods.

Among his accomplishments, Samuel Hubbard Scudder was the founding father of North American studies on fossil terrestrial arthropods such as insects, arachnids, and myriopods. He published papers on fossil arthropods from New Brunswick (Canada), the Green River, Mazon Creek, Florissant, and other worldwide locations. His generally recognized masterwork on the subject was his two-volume set, "Fossil Insects of North America." He also conducted systematic studies of living Lepidoptera (mostly butterflies) and Orthoptera (e.g., cockroaches and grasshoppers).

As always, visitors are welcome to our General Meetings. Refreshments will be served. Parking and admission are free.

Written by Bill Vinikour.

Mineral - Micromount Study Group Meeting on Agates, Sat. Feb. 14

The Mineral-Micromount Study Group will be meeting on Saturday, February 14 at 7:30 p.m. at College of DuPage, Room K131 to watch and discuss a video on agates.
Photo Credit: Photographer, Albert Copley. Oklahoma University via AGI Earth Science World Image Bank