Earth Science Club of Northern Illinois - ESCONI

Reminder: ESCONI General Meeting for February 14th, 2020 "Worked Stones and Gold of the Ancient Tayrona of Santa Marta, Colombia" by Ellen Steinberg, Ph.D #gems #gold #minerals

The program at our February 14th, 2020 meeting will be presented by Ellen Steinberg, Ph.D.  The title of her talk is "Worked Stones and Gold of the Ancient Tayrona of Santa Marta, Colombia".

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 fossil54@att.net

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 esconi.info@gmail.com

 

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

ESCONI January 2020 Junior Meeting - Does your child like earth science books? on January 10, 2020 #earthscience

Does your child like earth science books?

Bring them to our next junior meeting and we will use picture books to identify rocks & minerals! Ages 6 to 17 are welcome.

Friday January 10, 2020 at 7pm

College of DuPage

Technical Education Center West side room 1038A

Contact gallowayscottf@gmail.com with questions

Go to www.ESCONI.org for the map.

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 esconi.info@gmail.com

 

ESCONI Events January 2020

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

Fri, Jan 10th	ESCONI Junior Meeting, 7:00 PM College of Dupage - Tech Ed (TEC) Building, Room 1038A (Map) - Topic: "Does your child like earth science books?"
Fri, Jan 10th	ESCONI General Meeting, 8:00 PM College of Dupage - Tech Ed (TEC) Building, Room 1038A (Map) - Topic: "Earth's Inner Workings Revealed through Mineral Inclusions in Diamond" by Michelle Wenz, Researcher at Northwestern University
Sat, Jan 18th	ESCONI Paleontology Study Group Meeting, 7:30 PM -Tech Ed (TEC) Building, Room 1038B (Map) - Topic: "Middle Cambrian Fossils of Utah" by ESCONI Member Chris Cozart
Sat, Jan 25th	Warehouse Work Day, 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM - see here for details.  Rescheduled due to weather!

ESCONI Events December 2019

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

Fri, Dec 6th	ESCONI Holiday Party, 5:30 PM Cozymels in Wheaton
Fri, Dec 6th	ESCONI General Meeting, 8:00 PM College of Dupage - Tech Ed (TEC) Building, Room 1038A (Map) - Topic: "Microsites to Macro-inferences a Multiscale Approach to Analyzing Dinosaur Paleoecology" by Dr. Thomas Cullen a Postdoctoral Research Scientist at the Field Museum

Reminder: ESCONI Holiday Party December 6th, 2019, 5:30 PM at Cozymel's in Wheaton

An artist’s depiction of the extinct giant, frond-shaped organisms known as rangeomorphs. Credit: Reid Psaltis

The 2019 ESCONI Holiday Dinner is December 6, 2019, starting at 5:30 PM at Cozymel's in Wheaton. We will be ordering off the menu. As in the past few years, there will be door prizes given away.

Please RSVP to Dave at fossil54@att.net

ESCONI November General Meeting - ESCONI 70th Birthday Celebration Pictures

The November General Meeting last Friday, November 8th, 2019 was a great time!  We have a very large turnout and had to expand into the neighboring room.  There were two speakers, Keith Robitschek and Paul Mayer.  Keith did a presentation that discussed the history of ESCONI from 1949 to the present, while Paul spoke about the long fruitful relationship between the Field Museum and ESCONI.

The Cake!

The current Board of Directors.  Jeff Lord President, Chris Cozart Curator, Irene Broede 2nd Vice President, John Catalani Field Trip Chairman, Don Cronauer Editor, Andy Jansen Treasurer and Librarian, Keith Robitschek Historian and Field Trips, Dianna Lord Publicity and Recording Secretary, Dave Carlson 1st Vice President, and Rich Holm Webmaster.  Not pictured, Karen Nordquist Membership and Liaison.

Paul Mayer, of the Field Museum, and Dave Carlson, 1st Vice President

Keith Robitschek and Tom Williams

The LRBs are in the house!

Irene Broede, longest standing ESCONI member!

Irene's ESCONI trilobite pin

John Good, Past President.  He has held many ESCONI Board Positions over the last 25 years.

Full house!

ESCONI November General Meeting - ESCONI 70th Birthday Celebration on November 8th, 2019

Come on out to the November General Meeting!  There will be cake, a slide show, and maybe some surprise guests!

 

Officers of the Earth Science Club of Northern Illinois

William H. Allaway	Chairman
Roy Beghtol	Vice-Chairman
Herb Beck	Recording Secretary
Jay E. Farr	Corresponding Secretary
Stevens T. Norvell	Treasurer
Mrs. Ethel Whitney	Historian Curator
B. J. Babbitt	Editor
Harry Nelson	Associate Editor

 

Active Membership	$2.00
Associate Membership	$1.25
Junior Membership	$0.75
Non Resident Membership	$1.25

Meetings on 2nd Friday of every month, except July and August, at 8:00 PM.  Visitors Welcome!

ESCONI Events November 2019

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

Fri, Nov 8th	ESCONI Junior Meeting, 7:00 PM College of Dupage - Tech Ed (TEC) Building, Room 1038A (Map) - Topic: "Space and Fossils"
Fri, Nov 8th	ESCONI General Meeting, 8:00 PM College of Dupage - Tech Ed (TEC) Building, Room 1038A (Map) - Topic: "ESCONI 70th Birthday Celebration"
Mon, Nov 11th	Happy 70th Birthday ESCONI!
Sat, Nov 16th	ESCONI Paleontology Study Group Meeting, 7:30 PM -Tech Ed (TEC) Building, Room 1038B (Map) - Topic: "Pontiac Crinoids" by ESCONI Member Tom Williams

Reminder: ESCONI October Paleontology Study Group Meeting October 19th, 2019 - Waves, Winds, and Tides: Fossil Collecting on the West Dorset Coast of Southern England @LymeRegisMuseum @MaryAnningRocks

Waves, Winds, and Tides: Fossil Collecting on the West Dorset Coast of Southern England.

Presentation by: Andrew Young, with Marie Angkuw, Jann Bergsten, Rhonda Gates, and Deborah Lovely.

For the last several years, a group of ESCONI members have traveled to England in winter to collect fossils on its famous Jurassic Coast. Contrary to the time of year when vacationers typically hit the beaches looking for calm water and sunny skies, these enthusiasts plan their adventures precisely when the weather promises to be most violent and the tides most dramatic. It is when the fragile cliffs along the shoreline are fast-eroding from surf action that the incredible geologic history of the place is in best view.

Low tide on Charmouth Beach with Golden Cap in the distance, the highest point on the southern coast of Great Britain.

Twice now, our intrepid explorers have delivered ESCONI club presentations on Lyme Regis and its surroundings. They have covered the town’s fascinating and centuries-old religious, economic, and industrial history, the accomplishments of its most famous citizen – paleontologist Mary Anning – as well as their own experiences combing the beaches for fossil treasures. Their excitement for these trips is truly contagious.

Newly found pyritized Echioceras sp. ammonite on Charmouth Beach.

This past February, I was invited to join the expedition and it proved to be even more remarkable than any photo can capture. Though familiar beaches and fossil shops were revisited, this trip expanded to new locations and introductions with locals whose addiction and knowledge about collecting in the area were most helpful to us. It was really an evolution of discovery: new techniques of searching, new species found, and new relationships with similarly passionate people, all of which build on previous visits.

Rhonda Gates, Jann Bergsten, and Marie Angkuw at Seatown Beach.

On Saturday, October 19^th, at the ESCONI Paleo Group Meeting, I will lead a slide show presentation about this recent collecting adventure. Marie Angkuw, Jann Bergsten, Rhonda Gates, and Deborah Lovely will be present to contribute their stories and perspectives as we discuss what we’ve learned about collecting at the edge of an ocean, what we found, and the richness of the landscape overall. We’ll also bring our specimens for show-and-tell. Please join us for an exciting evening of further exploring the Jurassic Coast of southern England.

- Andrew Young

A large, water-worn ammonite in matrix at Monmouth Beach, Lyme Regis.

ESCONI Events October 2019

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

Fri, Oct 11th	ESCONI Junior Meeting, 7:00 PM College of Dupage - Tech Ed (TEC) Building, Room 1038A (Map) - Topic: "Fossils"
Fri, Oct 11th	ESCONI General Meeting, 8:00 PM College of Dupage - Tech Ed (TEC) Building, Room 1038A (Map) - Topic: "Local Vertebrate Microfossil and Brachiopod Records of the Late Devonian Mass Extinction" by Dr. James E. "Jed" Day, Professor of Geology at Illinois State University
Sat, Oct 12th	ESCONI Field Trip, Rockford Area Gravel Pit, 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM - Details here
Sat, Oct 19th	ESCONI Paleontology Study Group Meeting -Tech Ed (TEC) Building, Room 1038B (Map) - Topic: "Waves, Winds, and Tides: Fossil Collecting on the West Dorset Coast of Southern England" by ESCONI Member Andrew Young - Details here
Fri, Oct 25th	ESCONI Field Trip, St. Paul Quarry in St. Paul, IN, 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM - Details here
Sat, Oct 26th	ESCONI Field Trip, Jurica-Suchy Nature Museum at Benedictine University, 10:00 AM - Details here

ESCONI October Paleontology Study Group Meeting October 19th, 2019 - Waves, Winds, and Tides: Fossil Collecting on the West Dorset Coast of Southern England @LymeRegisMuseum @MaryAnningRocks

Waves, Winds, and Tides: Fossil Collecting on the West Dorset Coast of Southern England.

Presentation by: Andrew Young, with Marie Angkuw, Jann Bergsten, Rhonda Gates, and Deborah Lovely.

For the last several years, a group of ESCONI members have traveled to England in winter to collect fossils on its famous Jurassic Coast. Contrary to the time of year when vacationers typically hit the beaches looking for calm water and sunny skies, these enthusiasts plan their adventures precisely when the weather promises to be most violent and the tides most dramatic. It is when the fragile cliffs along the shoreline are fast-eroding from surf action that the incredible geologic history of the place is in best view.

Low tide on Charmouth Beach with Golden Cap in the distance, the highest point on the southern coast of Great Britain.

Twice now, our intrepid explorers have delivered ESCONI club presentations on Lyme Regis and its surroundings. They have covered the town’s fascinating and centuries-old religious, economic, and industrial history, the accomplishments of its most famous citizen – paleontologist Mary Anning – as well as their own experiences combing the beaches for fossil treasures. Their excitement for these trips is truly contagious.

Newly found pyritized Echioceras sp. ammonite on Charmouth Beach.

This past February, I was invited to join the expedition and it proved to be even more remarkable than any photo can capture. Though familiar beaches and fossil shops were revisited, this trip expanded to new locations and introductions with locals whose addiction and knowledge about collecting in the area were most helpful to us. It was really an evolution of discovery: new techniques of searching, new species found, and new relationships with similarly passionate people, all of which build on previous visits.

Rhonda Gates, Jann Bergsten, and Marie Angkuw at Seatown Beach.

On Saturday, October 19^th, at the ESCONI Paleo Group Meeting, I will lead a slide show presentation about this recent collecting adventure. Marie Angkuw, Jann Bergsten, Rhonda Gates, and Deborah Lovely will be present to contribute their stories and perspectives as we discuss what we’ve learned about collecting at the edge of an ocean, what we found, and the richness of the landscape overall. We’ll also bring our specimens for show-and-tell. Please join us for an exciting evening of further exploring the Jurassic Coast of southern England.

- Andrew Young

A large, water-worn ammonite in matrix at Monmouth Beach, Lyme Regis.

ESCONI Field Trip to Rockford-Area Gravel Pit - Oct 12th, 2019

There will be a field trip to a gravel pit in the Rockford area on Oct 12th, 2019. This is the same location that has been visited before. Because this is a shared trip with the Rockford club (RRVGMS) there is space for 20 ESCONI members. The trip will be from 9 AM to 12 noon.   

1. You and everyone in your group must be a member of ESCONI by Oct 10th.  Have your membership status resolved by then.
2. The minimum age to attend this trip is 18 years old.
3. Hard hats are required! 
4. You will be required to sign a waiver from the quarry.
5. Please review the Code of Ethics and Conduct on the ESCONI website. You will be expected to sign-in at the quarry. By signing you agree to follow the Code of Ethics and the conditions on the ESCONI Liability and Waiver form (sent by email to those that sign up). You do not need to print out the waiver form, just know what you’re agreeing to.
6. ESCONI members can sign up by sending me (Dave) an email with the number of members attending and their names. My email is fossil54@att.net   No phone calls please. Do not call the quarry.
7. I will acknowledge by return email. If you don't get a reply in 24 hours, send it again!
8. The address is 6230 Beltline Rd. Rockford, IL 61109

Note: this is a sand and gravel quarry, not the usual hard rock quarry in Rockford.  There are fossils, but they come from the glacial till.  So, if you are in the mood for a general rock collecting trip, this is for you!

Reminder: ESCONI September Junior Meeting on September 13th, 2019 at 7:00 PM

The topic of September's junior meeting will be show and tell. The juniors are welcome to bring in their rock, mineral, fossil, or stone point collections. Each junior will have a turn at presenting their collection at the junior meeting. We will bring ESCONI's own junior's collection and other material, which of course will have good stories to go with it. If we still have time left in the meeting we will make cast fossils of sea shells. The juniors who are members, and present their collections, will get one check on both of the achievements badges including; Collecting, and Communication.

 

ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show March 21st and 22nd 2020 - Save the Date!

Make sure you save time to attend the 2020 ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show on March 21st and 22nd 2020.  We'll have the usual mix of great vendors, Live Auction, Silent Auction, Junior Booth, Books, and much, much, more!  Don't miss it!

 

Reminder: ESCONI September General Meeting on September 13th, 2019 at 8:00 PM

The speaker at our September 13, 2019 meeting will be Dr. Ashley Klymiuk, Collections Manager, Paleobotany, at the Field Museum. The topic of her talk will be "Fossils from the Fifth Kingdom: from moulds to mycorrhizae".  Come on out... it should be very interesting!  Here is a link to a ScienceDaily article about some of her recent research.

Dr. Az Klymiuk is a Métis Canadian botanist, mycologist, and paleontologist.  Her research comprises comparative plant anatomy of gymnosperms and morphological systematics of fossilized microfungi.  In the course of her doctoral work at the University of Kansas, she became interested in plant-microbe interactions in dynamic redox systems that characterize wetland soils, and has worked to understand how the ecology of living root-associated fungi is impacted by these harsh biogeochemical conditions.  At the Field Museum, she is the collections manager for Paleobotany.

ESCONI Events September 2019

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

Fri, Sep 13th	ESCONI Junior Meeting, 7:00 PM College of Dupage - Tech Ed (TEC) Building, Room 1038B (Map) - Topic: "Maps"
Fri, Sep 13th	ESCONI General Meeting, 8:00 PM College of Dupage - Tech Ed (TEC) Building, Room 1038B (Map) - Topic: "Fossils from the Fifth Kingdom: from Moulds to Mycorrhizae" by Dr. Az Klymiuk, Collections Manager, Paleobotany the Field Museum
Sat, Sep 14th	ESCONI Field Trip, Mazon Creek Spoil Pile in Braceville, IL, 8:00 AM to 2:00 PM - Details here
Sun, Sep 15th	ESCONI Field Trip, Mazon Creek Spoil Pile in Braceville, IL, 8:00 AM to 2:00 PM - Details here
Sat, Sep 21th	ESCONI Field Trip, Ordovician Hard-rock Quarry near Belvidere, IL, 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM - Details here
Sat, Sep 21th	ESCONI Paleontology Study Group Meeting -Tech Ed (TEC) Building, Room 1038B (Map) - Topic: "Show and Tell" Bring in your summer treasures!