The Mid-American Paleontology Society (MAPS) is holding their 2021 Fossil Expo this weekend Friday October 22nd, Saturday October 23rd, and Sunday October 24th at the Illinois State Fairgrounds in Springfield, IL. The topic for the show is "The Ordovician". All the information you need is on their website.
The MAPS show is moving to October 22nd to 24th, 2021 in Springfield, IL.
DATES: October 22-24, 2021.
LOCATION: EXPO XLII will be held at the Orr Building located on the Illinois State Fairgrounds, 801 E Sangamon Ave., Springfield, Illinois (see Map p. 5). This facility has approx. 39,000 sq ft of floor space and is heated and air conditioned with restrooms and a finished kitchen. It is complete with two overhead doors and a loading dock for easy entry. Additionally, there are electrical outlets at every support post. Both the Orr Building and the Fairgrounds are locked nightly.
TENTATIVE EXPO HOURS: Friday, October 22: 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m., Saturday, October 23: 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m., and Sunday, October 24: 8:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.
SET-UP: Normal set-up will take place on Friday, October 22. However, for those that arrive early and want to set up their tables on Thursday, MAPS has arranged for the building to be opened. Specific set-up times for both Thursday and Friday will be given in the EXPO Registration Guide Digest. Buying, selling, or trading will NOT be allowed on Thursday and will be enforced.
PARKING: Parking at the Orr Building is free.
TRANSPORTATION: The Orr Building (Illinois State Fairgrounds) is accessible via I-55 to E. Sangamon Ave. west to the Fairgrounds. Business I-55 (Veterans Parkway) can also be used. A location map will be included in the full EXPO Registration Guide Digest. The Abraham Lincoln Capital Airport is located just west of the Fairgrounds.
SALES TAX: The sales tax rate for the Fairgrounds is 6.25%. For those without an Illinois tax number, there is a simple form available (see page 4). The sales tax rate for the rest of Springfield is 9.75%.
EXPO THEME: The Ordovician Period will be this year’s theme. Friday night’s Keynote Speaker will be Dr. Dennis Kolata. His program is tentatively titled “ The Platteville Formation Fauna of the Upper Midwest U.S. - A Snapshot of the Great Ordovician Biodiversification Event”.
PROGRAMS: Each day of EXPO, a number of programs/lectures/workshops are given by members and interested individuals on-site at the Orr Building. These programs average 40-60 minutes in length, are usually given in PowerPoint format, and deal with various topics often, but not always, in line with the theme for that year. If interested in presenting a program, contact Dale Stout: [email protected]. Times will be posted.
REGISTRATION: A complete EXPO Registration Guide Digest with table registration form, general policies, location map for both the Main Show and the Hotel Show, etc. will be sent out sometime in April/May 2021. This Digest will follow the format of previous EXPO Registration Guides.
HOTEL SHOW: The Hotel Show will be located at the Northfield Inn, 3280 Northfield Dr. (see Map p. 5). Note also that MAPS EXPO and the Hotel Show are separate entities. We (MAPS) place the venue location of the Hotel Show on our maps as a courtesy but are not in any way responsible for that show. All arrangements for the Hotel Show go through Dan Cooper ([email protected]).
SHOW FLYER: The show flyer is attached at the end of this document. Please reproduce, distribute, and advertise EXPO whenever and wherever appropriate.
FUTURE EXPOs: The MAPS Board voted and approved to have future EXPO Shows take place in October at the Orr Building, Illinois State Fairgrounds, Springfield, Illinois. See future MAPS Digest issues for further details.
