Earth Science Club of Northern Illinois - ESCONI

ESCONI Flashback Friday #38: Hunting Gold in Alaska #gold #mining #minerals #alaska

As part of the celebration of ESCONI's 70th Anniversary, here is Flashback Friday post #38.  If you have pictures or stories to contribute, please send them over to [email protected].  Thanks!

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Rich Rock joined ESCONI in 1970.  And, come on... could there be a better name for a member of ESCONI?  He has served as Field Trip Chairman off and on for many years.  By the pictures, stories, and conversations over the years, it's obvious he has an great and extensive collection.  Just a few months ago, he spent a few days collecting Mazon Creek concretions from the Mazon River, as I was there, too.  He has shared much information (even maps) about Mazon Creek collecting with ESCONI members over the years and his stories are always interesting!  Rich has taken a few trips up to Alaska to find gold.  He and his son gave an interesting lecture on Gold Mining for the in November 2007 General Meeting.

Gold Mining in Alaska

Gold Miners Philip Rock, Don Miner and Richard Rock

Planning a three month trip to the wilderness of Alaska is quite an undertaking – food, transportation, clothes, equipment, weather, etc. All that and more must be taken into consideration. The food for that period of time under those conditions is specialized – dehydrated and freeze-dried so that it can be mixed with water on site when needed. Richard Rock even bought a canning machine so that he could prepare some of it himself.

When they arrived on May 17 there was still snow! It lasted longer last year than usual. They headed up to Nome and to their hunting region where they set up their tents and camp. They used propane for heat. There were a lot of other prospectors there and after 6 weeks they moved to East Beach to get away from them. There are a lot of sources for information of gold prospecting –journals like Gold Prospectors Magazine and the Nome Nugget paper. There are also clubs and the Membership Mining Guide and, of course, you need an Atlas of Alaska. The claims office is also important so that you know what is legal.

There is some equipment you can use like metal detectors that can be helpful in finding gold. Some can find it when it is as deep as 20 inches and some when it is as deep as 3 or 4 feet. But as Phil mentioned you can also waste a lot of time digging and finding metal trash also. There is a lot of pollution, debris and garbage around, including bullets. He has found some platinum also. It can be helpful in finding artifacts though. Topographic maps are very important and they have 40-50 of them that they use. GPS is essential today to keep from getting lost. Classifiers are screen mesh on top of the pans used to find the gold in streams. Sniffer bottles are also used to help remove the gold from the pans. They have water in them and are used to squeeze the small pieces of gold into them. Sometimes they use magnets because some of the sand is magnetic and they can get rid of it that way.

There is also some inland gold and larger nuggets in concentrations along the creeks. There is one layer with overburden and bedrock beneath. Don told about their adventures with some of the wildlife that included bears, and moose. They did have shotguns to protect themselves but were fortunate not to have many problems. They showed many slides of the beautiful country and the equipment they used to find the gold. There are cabins at some spots that have been used by miners that they used periodically at some sites. Some had equipment that were left there as community property for others to use and return. There were old unused mining operations falling apart they visited. They also had several samples of the gold that they found on their Alaskan adventure.

The meeting was adjourned so that all could get a closer look at the equipment and maps the Alaskan gold diggers had brought.

Respectfully submitted, Karen Nordquist, Recording Secretary

 

ESCONI Field Trip to Field Museum Meteorite and Fossil Invertebrate Collections - Saturday, February 22nd, 2020

ESCONI Field Trip to Field Museum Meteorite and Fossil Invertebrate Collections

There will be a field trip to the Field Museum in Chicago on Saturday February 22, 2020 starting at 10 AM. This is a behind-the-scenes visit to view the collections of meteorites and fossil invertebrates. Here are the rules:

1. This trip is free (no entry fee) but you and everyone in your group must be ESCONI members.  Have your membership status worked out before the trip. No money or dues will be accepted on the day of the trip.

2. Meet at the west door to the museum (between the museum and Lake Shore Drive) at 10 AM.

3. Families and kids are welcome.

4. Maximum attendance is 30. The group will be split. One part will start viewing meteorites, while the other goes through fossil invertebrates, then they will switch. Total time for both areas is about 1 hour.

5. Registration is required by February 20, 2020. To register, send me (Dave) an email with the number of members attending. My email address is [email protected]

Thanks to Irene Broede for arranging this trip, and to Jim Holstein and Paul Mayer for hosting it.

 

Warehouse Work Day - Saturday, February 15th, 2020, 9:00 - 1:00ish

If you have some time, come join our work day at the warehouse on Saturday, February 15th, 2020 from 9:00-1:00ish.  If the weather is bad, we will choose a different day and let everyone know.  The warehouse address is 900 Knell in Montgomery, IL.  Please meet/enter in the back of the warehouse ONLY.  You will see railroad tracks along the back of the warehouse.  Drive all the way to the end in the back.
 
For more information, contact us at [email protected]

 

ESCONI Events February 2020

Field trips require membership, but visitors are welcome at all meetings!

Fri, Feb 14th	ESCONI Junior Meeting, 7:00 PM College of Dupage - Tech Ed (TEC) Building, Room 1038A (Map) - Topic: "Mazon Creek Fossils"
Fri, Feb 14th	ESCONI General Meeting, 8:00 PM College of Dupage - Tech Ed (TEC) Building, Room 1038B (Map) - Topic: "Worked Stones and Gold of the Ancient Tayrona of Santa Marta, Colombia" by Ellen Steinberg, Ph.D
Sat, Feb 15th	Warehouse Work Day, 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM - see here for details.
Sat, Feb 15th	ESCONI Paleontology Study Group Meeting, 7:30 PM -Tech Ed (TEC) Building, Room 1038B (Map) - Topic: "George Langford" by ESCONI Member Rich Holm
Sat, Feb 22nd	Field Trip to Field Museum Meteorite and Fossil Invertebrate Collections - see here for details

PBS Eons: The Giant Dinosaur That Was Missing a Body #paleontology #dinosaurs

 

PBS Eons has a new video.  This one is about Deinocheirus, whose name means horrible hand.

From end to end, its forelimbs alone measured an incredible 2.4 meters long and were tipped with big, comma-shaped claws. But other than its bizarre arms, very little material from this dinosaur had been found: no skull, no feet, almost nothing that could give experts a fuller picture of what this dinosaur actually was.

Remembering Clay Davis 1946 - 2020

Clay Davis in his “fossil room,” surrounded by Mazon Creek specimens. June 2013.

Sadly, our friend and fellow fossil enthusiast, Clay Davis, passed away this January. His family will be hosting an informal luncheon in his memory on Friday, February 7^th, from 1 to 3 PM at the Stone City VFW Post 2199 in Joliet, Illinois. All are welcome. If you are planning to attend or would like to reach out to his daughter, please contact Penny Fitzpatrick at (630) 294-3827.  His obituary is here.

 

The address of the venue is:

Stone City VFW Post 2199

124 Stone City Drive

Joliet, IL 60436

 

Roy Plotnick: What is a fossil? #paleontology #fossils

A caddisfly case from the Oligocene of Montana. The case is made of tiny ostracode shells.

Roy Plotnick has another informative post over on Medium.  This time he tackles the question "What is a fossil?".  If you aren't following him yet, go ahead and click the Follow button.  He posts regularly and his posts are very interesting and he'll always leave you thinking...

In a Peanuts comic that had a place of honor on my dorm door, Peppermint Patty is taking an exam and is asked to: “Explain World War II.” Patty incredulously responds: “Explain World War II !?” The last panel, further explains: “Use both sides of the paper, if necessary.” I recently had a similar reaction, when science reporters, interviewing me about my most recent paper, asked me to explain in a few words, “when do bones and teeth become fossils?” Although they are orders of magnitude fewer in number than those written about World War II, nevertheless there are many books and many hundreds of academic papers written about the formation of fossils, the science of taphonomy. Not so simple to answer in a couple of sentences. In addition, it was implicit in their questions, and from one asked by a reviewer of the paper, that the process of fossilization must include some sort of change to the bones and teeth, that they must become “fossilized,” that is, changed to some sort of rock (think of petrified wood).

New species of Allosaurus discovered in Utah #dinosaurs #allosaurus

Allosaurus jimmadseni attack juvenile sauropod. Credit: Todd Marshall

Phys.org has a story about a new Allosaurus species discovered in Utah.  The first specimen of the new species of Allosaur, called Allosaurus jimmadseni, was discovered back in the early 1990s in Dinosaur National Monument in northeastern Utah.  It lived between 152 and 175 million years ago, during the Jurassic Period.  It differs from the original Allosaur, Allosaurus fragilis.  This new species has a more narrow and shorter skull.  Allosaurus jimmadseni lived about 5 million years before Allosaurus fragilis.  And, would have been the top predator in its ecosystem.  Find all the details in a paper published in the journal PeerJ.

The species belongs to the allosauroids, a group of small to large-bodied, two-legged carnivorous dinosaurs that lived during the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods. Allosaurus jimmadseni, possesses several unique features, among them a short narrow skull with low facial crests extending from the horns in front of the eyes forward to the nose and a relatively narrow back of the skull with a flat surface to the bottom of the skull under the eyes. The skull was weaker with less of an overlapping field of vision than its younger cousin Allosaurus fragilis. Allosaurus jimmadseni evolved at least 5 million years earlier than fragilis, and was the most common and the top predator in its ecosystem. It had relatively long legs and tail, and long arms with three sharp claws. The name Allosaurus translates as "different reptile," and the second part, jimmadseni, honors Utah State Paleontologist James H. Madsen Jr.

Following an initial description by Othniel C. Marsh in 1877, Allosaurus quickly became the best known—indeed the quintessential—Jurassic theropod. The taxonomic composition of the genus has long been a debate over the past 130 years. Paleontologists argue that there are anywhere between one and 12 species of Allosaurus in the Morrison Formation of North America. This study recognizes only two species—A. fragilis and A. jimmadseni.

"Previously, paleontologists thought there was only one species of Allosaurus in Jurassic North America, but this study shows there were two species—the newly described Allosaurus jimmadseni evolved at least 5 million years earlier than its younger cousin, Allosaurus fragilis," said co-lead author Mark Loewen, research associate at the Natural History Museum of Utah, and associate professor in the Department of Geology and Geophysics at the University of Utah led the study. "The skull of Allosaurus jimmadseni is more lightly built than its later relative Allosaurus fragilis, suggesting a different feeding behavior between the two."

"Recognizing a new species of dinosaur in rocks that have been intensely investigated for over 150 years is an outstanding experience of discovery. Allosaurus jimmadseni is a great example of just how much more we have to learn about the world of dinosaurs. Many more exciting fossils await discovery in the Jurassic rocks of the American West," said Daniel Chure, retired paleontologist at Dinosaur National Monument and co-lead author of the study.

Happy Birthday Jan. 26, 1884: Roy Chapman Andrews #dinosaurs @AMNH

Photo from Parade of Life Through The Ages, by Charles Knight, Nat. Geo., Feb. 1942.

From the American Museum of Natural History web site:

Adventurer, administrator, and Museum promoter — Andrews (Jan. 26, 1884 – March 11, 1960) spent his entire career at the American Museum of Natural History, where he rose through the ranks from departmental assistant, to expedition organizer, to Museum director.

He became world famous as leader of the Central Asiatic Expeditions, a series of expeditions to Mongolia that collected, among other things, dinosaur eggs. Although on these expeditions, Andrews himself found few fossils, and during his career he was not known as an influential scientist, he instead filled the role of promoter, creating immense excitement and successfully advancing the research and exhibition goals of the museum.

Learn about the Roy Chapman Andrews Society HERE.

LiveScience: Are Birds Dinosaurs? #dinosaurs #birds

LiveScience has an interesting story that explains how and why birds are dinosaurs.  

What do sparrows, geese and owls have in common with a velociraptor or the mighty Tyrannosaurus rex? All can trace their origins to a bipedal, mostly meat-eating group of dinosaurs called theropods ("beast-footed") that first appeared around 231 million years ago, during the late Triassic Period. 

The earliest birds shared much in common with their theropod relatives, including feathers and egg-laying. However, certain traits – such as sustained, powered flight – distinguished ancient birds from other theropods, and eventually came to define modern-bird lineage (even though not all modern birds fly).

Today, all non-avian dinosaurs are long extinct. But are birds still considered to be true dinosaurs?

ESCONI Flashback Friday #37: Andy Hay Speaks at Lizzadro on Mazon Creek Plants - March 10th, 2001 #MazonCreek #fossils

As part of the celebration of ESCONI's 70th Anniversary, here is Flashback Friday post #37.  If you have pictures or stories to contribute, please send them over to [email protected].

Thanks!

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Andy Hay was a long time ESCONI member.  He joined in 1976 and was a member to the very end.  He wrote the Creature Corner column in the ESCONI bulletin for many years.  He was heavily involved in the creation of "Keys To Identify Pennsylvanian Fossil Animals of the Mazon Creek Area", which was first published in 1989.  This was the definitive guide for a long time.  He was heavily involved in the Paleontology Study Group for many years.  Additionally, he was instrumental in the "Mazon Creek Project" and because of his efforts we can collect at Pit 11 even today!

I never met him, but from the stories, I sure wish I did!

Andy Hay Speaks at Lizzadro on Mazon Creek Plants

On Saturday, March 10, our own Andrew Hay gave a talk at the Lizzadro Museum to a group of interested families. Some of the audience members are signed up to travel to Mazon Creek with our Don Auler as guide for the Museum. So many signed up that they now have two full trips to go fossil hunting and a long waiting list.

Andy took us back in a time machine to Illinois 300 MYA. We are in a hot swampy area that is located near the equator (unlike today). The first fossils found there were of plants and in 1853 the first insect was found. The insects like dragonflies and cockroaches grew very big in those days. At this time Europe was attached to the US up around Newfoundland and our NE coast and it was one big swamp. Over the many years there were 16 successive coal swamps in Illinois. After the civil war we began to mine the coal in the area that was formed when all these plants died. As they mined they found concretions in the layer just above the coal veins. Dr. Eugene Richardson, an entomologist at the Field Museum did a lot of research here with many graduate students and amateurs. As they mined, the holes were left empty instead of being filled in and fossils could be found there. In 1970 Peabody Coal ended their mining in Pit 15, 14, 13, and 11. Com Ed bought the site for a nuclear plant and they were not interested in fossil collecting. The Mazon Creek Project worked hard to lobby the state to allow collecting there. In 1999 Governor Ryan purchased Pit 11 and the DNR (Department of Natural Resources) was to negotiate with the Illinois State Museum to arrange for permits to collect. That procedure is still being developed even though the season began March 1.

All the big plants that grew 300 MYA fell into the anoxic swamp and were buried without rotting. The high sulfur coal of Southern Illinois is no longer mined, but Peabody had good low sulfur coal here. The Mazon Creek itself was the site of the first fossil finds in its silty slimy mud. There is no collecting allowed there now as it undermines the banks and the residents will not allow it. Mr. McCluckie was an early collector and had an excellent collection that he sent to the Smithsonian.

Andy had samples of even earlier plants – blue-green algae that took carbon dioxide out of the air and used carbon to produce plant scum in the swamps. This happened 400 MYA. Algae that deposit lime laid down the Michigan dolomite.

In the Pennsylvanian there were many ferns that are very much like the ferns of today, except most of them reproduced with seeds instead of the spores of today. Some were 100 feet tall and 2-3 feet in diameter. He highly recommended a visit to the forest at the Burpee Museum. Many of the tall plants back them had mangrove like roots developing from the trunk to help hold the plants upright on the silty soil. He showed examples of Annularia, Sigillaria, Lepidendron bark (showing the bark pattern where leaves attached), Lycopod leaves (with needle like leaves), Sphenopteris, cones of Lycopod ferns, and Neuropteris. He also tempted us with slides of some of the animals to be found alongside these many plants, including clam, pectin, worms, sea cucumbers, shrimp, centipede, insects, fish, cephalopod, and the Tully Monster.

Everyone enjoyed Andy’s talk and the fossils and many were looking forward to their first fossil trip to Mazon Creek. We also found some potential new members for our club.  Don Auler, Don Brazda, and Jim Fairchild also attended the talk.

 

2020 IGS Post-Meeting Field Days Itinerary “Limestone and More” Saturday, April 25 – Sunday, April 26, 2020

2020 IGS Post-Meeting Field Days Itinerary “Limestone and More” Saturday, April 25 – Sunday, April 26, 2020

Overview: Limestone quarrying is a major industry in the Bedford/Bloomington, Indiana region. We will explore the area and view creations made with this versatile building and ornamental stone. The second day of the two-day trip will center around the Tibetan Mongolian Buddhist Cultural Center and its tenets and philosophy. The tour is self-pay for all meals, lodging, gas, parking fees, tolls, donations, and admissions. Stay for the entire trip or feel free to just stay an hour or two. Trip is rain or shine.

Meeting Point: Meet at Super 8 Motel parking lot, 1751 N. Stonelake Drive, Bloomington, IN at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, April 25, 2020.

Tour cost: Self-pay.

Transportation: Most of this field day experience will be conducted through car caravan with moderate walking. You will be responsible for your own gasoline costs, parking fees, and tolls.

Lodging: You are free to find accommodations of your own choosing. The tour leader(s) will be overnighting at the Tibetan Mongolian Buddhist Cultural Center in a yurt on the property. More information follows below.

Itinerary

Saturday, April 25

2:00 – 3:30 p.m. Meet at Super 8 Motel (1751 N. Stonelake Dr.). This is located on the north side of the IN 45/46 Bypass. If coming via I-69 from the south, take exit 120A, and then first left on to Stonelake Dr. We will meet Brian D. Keith (Quaternary Geologist) and Todd Thompson (Director, Indiana Geological and Water Survey) in a Survey truck in front of the Super 8.  The back entrance to Reed Quarry is behind the motel. This is an active Salem (Bedford or Indiana Limestone to the stone industry) Limestone quarry that uses an interesting mix of older and newer technology. Walking will be over some rough ground so sturdy shoes or hiking boots recommended. Hardhats will be supplied to the group. Brian Keith and Todd Thompson will also provide an overview of the history of the limestone and the industry at this stop.

3:30 – 3:45 p.m. Leave Reed Quarry and drive to the Sample Gates entrance to the IU campus located at the intersection of Kirkwood and Indiana Avenues just east of downtown Bloomington.

3:45 – 5:30 p.m. Take walking tour guided by Brian Keith of the main and oldest (but with a few newer buildings) part of campus. Brian will provide printed booklets (“Follow the Limestone: A Walking Tour of Indiana University”) that list the buildings with brief descriptions. Brian will cover the history of the campus as related to the buildings in addition to the architectural elements of the buildings and the use of Salem limestone on the buildings and how that has changed through time.

5:30 – 6:45 p.m. Join us for supper (On Your Own) at Samira Restaurant, 100 West 6^th Street, Bloomington, IN 47404, 812-331-3761, https://locu.com/places/samiras-restaurant-bloomington-us/, an Afghan restaurant specializing in a variety of kebabs and vegetarian entrees.

6:45 – 8:00 p.m. Before we retire for the evening, you are in for a special treat. We will be visiting the art studio of artist, stone cutter, and sculptor Amy Brier. Amy’s studio is at 7757 South Strain Ridge Road, Bloomington, IN 47401, 812-824-8845, https://amybrier.com/ . Amy will speak to us about her love of limestone and its versatility as well as how she creates incredible works of art using this local stone.

Overnight at Tibetan Mongolian Buddhist Cultural Center, 3655 South Snoddy Road, Bloomington, IN 47401, 812-336-6807, https://www.tmbcc.org/. The tour leader is overnighting here in a yurt which is $100 per night with only limited availability. If you are interested in staying at the Cultural Center, I recommend that you reserve promptly. Other accommodations also are available on the property as well as locally. (It is up to you to make your own overnight reservation if you are planning on staying for the rest of the field trip!)

Sunday, April 26

8:00 a.m. -10:00 a.m. Interested individuals could meet (On Your Own) at Bloomington Bagel Company, 913 South College Mall Road, Bloomington, IN, 812-339-4653, http://bbcbagel.com/ for early morning noshing and conversation. The cuisine here is bagels, of course.

10:00- 11:00 a.m. Return to the Cultural Center for Sunday Lecture and Reflections at the Temple

11:00- 12:00 p.m. Tour of Cultural Center grounds

12:00 p.m. - ? Before departing the Bloomington area to make our ways home, we will stop and have lunch at Café Bali, 210 S. Grant Street, Suite #1, Bloomington, IN, 47408, 812-287-8251, https://www.cafebaliusa.com/ (On Your Own), an Indonesian, Chinese, Japanese restaurant.

Reservations and contacts for Additional Information:

Joe Kubal

630-983-6159 (Home)

[email protected]

 

Keith Yearman

312-532-7645 (Cell)

[email protected]

 

Reservations need to be made by Sunday, April 5, 2020

Itinerary Subject to Change

Roy Plotnick: Looking back, looking forward: Chicago and the Anthropocene #paleontology #geology #anthropocene #chicago

Deep Tunnel Quarry

Our friend, Roy Plotnick has a new article over on Medium.  This one is a summary of the changes to the natural geology of Chicago from the last ice age about 20,000 years ago until the present.  As always, it's a good read!

About 20,000 years ago, where I am sitting in Chicago was covered by about a kilometer of ice. This was the height of the most recent advance of ice sheets in the Northern Hemisphere, which had begun some 80,000 years earlier. About 15,000 years ago the ice sheets began to retreat and within the next 5000 years they had totally disappeared. These great ice sheets left an indelible mark on the landscape, the most notable being Lake Michigan and the other Great Lakes, carved by the glaciers in the underlying bedrock. Paralleling the current shore of Lake Michigan to the south and west are linear hills, moraines, up to a hundred feet high, deposited by the glacier as it temporarily slowed in its retreat. And as the ice melted it produced an ancestor to Lake Michigan, Lake Chicago, whose northeastern shore was the retreating glacier and whose southwestern shores were the morainal hills. In one spot, to the southwest, a mile-wide river cut a channel in the moraine, through which flowed water not only from Lake Chicago but from the entire newborn Great Lakes.

Chicago Rocks & Minerals Society - 71st Annual Silent Auction Saturday March 14th, 2020 - Rocks, Minerals, Fossils and Lapidary #rocks #minerals #fossils #lapidary

We Will Rock You!

 

Chicago Rocks & Minerals Society

Hosts 71st Annual Silent Auction of 

Rocks, Minerals, Fossils and Lapidary Treasures

 

Saturday, March 14, 2020

6 to 9 p.m.

 

St. Peter's United Church of Christ

8013 Laramie Ave., Skokie, IL

(Across the street from the public library on Oakton)

 

The first table closes at 6:30 p.m. There's something for everyone who has rocks on their mind: minerals, fossils, crystals, geodes, gemstones, handmade jewelry, rough rock, books, magazines, and lapidary treasures galore. The variety is amazing.

 

Families are welcome; children must be accompanied by an adult. Free admission.

 

Free parking For more information, contact Jeanine N. Mielecki, (312) 623-1554 or email [email protected].

 

Visit www.chicagorocks.org. Like us on Facebook /  Chicago Rocks & Minerals Society.

 

NPR: Aussie Firefighters Save World's Only Groves Of Prehistoric Wollemi Pines #Australia #AustralianWildFires #paleobotany

NPR has a story about the state of the only natural groves of Wollemi Pines.  Thought to be extinct the Wollemi Pines were "discovered" in the wilds of Australia back in 1994.

It was a lifesaving mission as dramatic as any in the months-long battle against the wildfires that have torn through the Australian bush.

But instead of a race to save humans or animals, a specialized team of Australian firefighters was bent on saving invaluable plant life: hidden groves of the Wollemi pine, a prehistoric tree species that has outlived the dinosaurs.

Wollemia nobilis peaked in abundance 34 million to 65 million years ago, before a steady decline. Today, only 200 of the trees exist in their natural environment — all within the canyons of Wollemi National Park, just 100 miles west of Sydney.

The trees are so rare that they were thought to be extinct until 1994.

That's the year David Noble, an officer with the New South Wales National Parks and Wildlife Service, rappelled into a narrow canyon and came across a grove of large trees he didn't recognize.

Noble brought back a few twigs and showed them to biologists and botanists who were similarly stumped.

PBS Eons: The Neanderthals That Taught Us About Humanity #paleontology

 

Checkout the new episode of PBS Eons.  It's about Neanderthals and how they weren't much different than us.

Throughout the first half of the 20th century, Neandertals were thought to have been…primitive. Unintelligent, hunched-over cavemen, for lack of a better word. But the discoveries made in that Iraqi cave provided some of the earliest clues that Neanderthals actually behaved -- and likely thought and felt -- a lot like we do.

Mazon Creek Lecture on February 18th, 2020 - “Amazin’ Mazon Creek: Digging the Past in Illinois” #MazonCreek #fossils

“Amazin’ Mazon Creek: Digging the Past in Illinois”

Presented by Ellen F. Steinberg, Ph.D.

Free PowerPoint lecture for the general public

Sponsored by the Geographical Society of Chicago, in partnership with the National

Geographic Society

Chicago Cultural Center Renaissance Court

February 18, 2020

2:00-3:30 p.m.

SYNOPSIS

Steinberg’s presentation will concern the Mazon Creek sedimentary fossil beds found in LaSalle, Livingston, Will, Grundy, Fulton & Kankakee counties of Illinois. These fossils date to the mid-Pennsylvanian epoch of the Carboniferous period, around 307 million years ago. The quality, quantity & diversity of fossils in the area, known since the mid-19^th century, make the Mazon Creek beds important to paleontologists attempting to reconstruct the paleoecology of the area. The locality was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1997, while the fossil beds were designated a National Historic Landmark in 2002.

Ellen will show examples of some of the plants and animals preserved in the siderite concretions found in the Mazonia-Braidwood State Park and surrounding areas. She will also chronicle digging in a coal mine spoil pile for fossil-bearing concretions during 2 ESCONI (Earth Sciences Club of Northern Illinois) field trips to Braceville, IL. Afterward, she will display some Mazon Creek fossils.

ESCONI Flashback Friday #36: SUE at the Field Museum @FieldMuseum @SUEtheTrex #dinosaurs #fossils

As part of the celebration of ESCONI's 70th Anniversary, here is Flashback Friday post #36.  If you have pictures or stories to contribute, please send them over to [email protected].  Thanks!

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SUE had her Grand Opening at the Field Museum on May 17th, 2000.  Here is a link to the ESCONI page to document the event.  This page is from the old ESCONI website saved and accessible on web.archive.org.  By the way, the links at the bottom to SUE's original page at the fieldmuseum.org and the debut article in National Geographic also redirect to the saved copies of the original pages at web.archive.org.  If you want to explore the internet as it existed years ago, quite a bit of it is available at web.archive.org.  Check it out sometime!

Welcome, SUE, to the Field Museum. 

Two ESCONI members, Karen Nordquist and Irene Broede, were at the Sue Introduction on May 17, 2000.  They work at the Field Museum as volunteers in fossil preparation and guides.  The following are pictures and commentary from the big day.

Banners announce the arrival of SUE at the Field Museum in Chicago, Illinois. She was unveiled on Wednesday, May 17, 2000 in her permanent home. She stands near where the Brachiasurus formerly stood in Stanley Field Hall. The tall plant eater is now at the United Terminal at O'Hare with an outdoor copy on the north porch of the Field Museum.

A mural by Paleoartist John Gurche looks down from the balcony over SUE's real bones in the same pose. Her bones are a beautiful dark chocolate brown and have a natural sheen that almost makes them look metallic. Over 90 % of her bones are real on the mount. Modeled bones include the left arm, some left foot bones, some of the neck vertebrae, parts of some ribs, and the last few tail vertebrae. In addition, two of the tail vertebrae have been put on special display on the second floor to give a close look at their unusual pathology.

The fierce skull on the skeleton is a cast that has been remodeled to show how SUE would have looked in life. This view also shows the furcula or wishbone. Can you find it? It is very small (compared to the wishbone of a chicken) but is one of the links between the T. rex and birds.

SUE's skull contained 58 sharp strong teeth. As a reptile she kept getting new teeth throughout her life, so some of the new teeth are just coming in. She always had a mouth full of teeth. You can see the controversial holes on the back of her lower left jaw in this shot. Formerly thought to be the indications of a death struggle with another T. rex, they are now thought to be the result of an infection. They are smooth indicating that the infection was not the cause of death. What was the cause of Sue's death? Maybe old age? It has not been determined yet.

This is SUE's real skull which is exhibited on the balcony at eye level. This allows a good close view of the massive skull which is too heavy to mount on the real skeleton. In additon, it was decided to keep the skull in its damaged condition so you can see where it was crushed by its own pelvis(on the left side). SUE had good senses with large olfactory bulbs discovered by CT scanning, large forward facing eyes for good binocular depth vision, and the first T. rex ear bone found.

All pictures and commentary by Karen Nordquist

Sue Links are:

Sue at the Field Museum

June Issue of the National Geographic - Debut Sue

Rescheduled Warehouse Work Day Due to Weather - Saturday, January 25th, 2020, 9:00 - 1:00ish

If you have some time, come join our work day at the warehouse on Saturday, January 25th, 2020 from 9:00-1:00ish.  If the weather is bad, we will choose a different day and let everyone know.  The warehouse address is 900 Knell in Montgomery, IL.  Please meet/enter in the back of the warehouse ONLY.  You will see railroad tracks along the back of the warehouse.  Drive all the way to the end in the back.
 
For more information, contact us at [email protected]

Burpee Museum: PaleoFest 2020, Friday, March 6th and Saturday, March 7th, 2020 #paleontology #dinosaurs

PaleoFest 2020 will be held on Friday, March 6th and Saturday, March 7th, 2020 at the Burpee Museum in Rockford, IL.  Always an interesting time.  Here are all the details!

Friday, March 6th: Members Only Reception

5:30pm: Members Only Reception

7:00pm: Keynote Presentation

By: Dr. Larisa DeSantis, Vanderbilt University

Topic: Saber-Toothed Cats

Saturday, March 7th: PaleoFest Day 1

8:30am: Doors Open

9:00am: Speaker Symposium Begins

4:00pm: Speaker Symposium Ends

4:30- 6:30PM:Cocktail Mixer: LIVE MUSIC 

6:30PM: Dinner Seating

Evening Feature:

7:30 Keynote Lecture

Keynote Speaker TBA

Sun March 8th: PaleoFest Day 2

8:30am: Doors Open

9:00am: Speaker Symposium Begins

4:00pm: Speaker Symposium Ends

PaleoFest Quick Links

Speaker Schedule Saturday

Speaker Schedule Sunday

Saturday Mixer & Dinner

Family Workshop Schedule Saturday & Sunday

Family Science Talk Schedule Saturday & Sunday

PaleoArt Schedule Saturday & Sunday

Is This Your FIRST PaleoFest?

Saturday Family Tickets Available HERE

Sunday Family Tickets Available HERE

Full Weekend Family Tickets Available HERE

Research Lecture Tickets Available HERE

Get Your PaleoFest Tickets!

Museum General Admission

$12 Adult; $10 Youth (Burpee Members: $4 Adult; $2 Youth)

Enjoy special activities throughout the Museum only available on PaleoFest weekend. Get hands on at activity stations and enjoy paleontology for the whole family.  Museum Admission does not include lecture pass or workshop pass.  Museum Admission not available online or in advance.

The Family Pass

A good deal for the family including museum general admission for 2 adults & 3 children and an entertaining science lecture for all ages presented by one of the event’s guest paleontologists.  Pre-purchase your family pass and skip the lines!

$58 General Family Pass        $20  Burpee Members Family Pass

Family Pass Do It ALL (One Day)

A great deal for families looking to get super involved in PaleoFest learning!  The pass includes 1 Day museum admission for up to 2 adults & 3 children, and entrance for the group to one child-friendly workshop class and family science lecture. Additional youth passes can be purchased for $10 each ($8 members)

$75 Family DO IT ALL-One Day     $50 Burpee Members

Do It ALL Weekend …Family Pass!

Experience all the PaleoFest offers. This includes museum admission for 2 adults & 3 children on Saturday & Sunday with one Family PaleoArt, and Paleo Workshop, PLUS a Family-friendly lecture with an internationally recognized paleontologist both days!  Different workshops and different speakers each day.

$120 DO IT ALL WEEKEND Family Pass      $80 Members

The Family Pass VIP: Do It ALL Weekend 

OUR BEST DEAL!! This includes Saturday & Sunday museum admission for 2 adults & 3 children, one Family PaleoArt Class, a child-Paleo Workshop, Family Lectures each day, PLUS Saturday dinner, & Keynote lecture!

$260 General Family VIP      $200Members

1 Day Research Lecture Pass

Join us on Saturday or Sunday for a full schedule of 30 minute talks by a variety of world class paleontologists.  Learn about their current findings, and catch a glimpse of the newest research!

$65 General     $50 Member/Student

2 Day Research Lecture Pass

Join us on Saturday AND Sunday for a full schedule of 30 minute talks by a variety of world class paleontologists.  Learn about their current findings, and catch a glimpse of the newest research!

$85 General     $70 Member/Student

Don’t Miss The Research Paleo Package

THE BEST SCIENTIST’S DEAL: Includes 2 Day lecture pass, Saturday cocktail mixer, Saturday dinner & keynote lecture, and museum admission. This is your way to “experience it all” at PaleoFest for the best deal!

$140 General     $110 Member/Student