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Join the celebration of prehistoric animals that once roamed our region

Cincinnati Museum Center hosts Fossil Week October 15 – 18

CINCINNATI – Whether you’re an amateur paleontologist who can name every dinosaur from the Jurassic period or you can’t tell a trilobite from a triceratops, there’s something for everyone during Fossil Week at Cincinnati Museum Center October 15 – 18. Fossil Week features hands-on activities, lectures by experts, games and more.

fossil skullThis region was once beneath a vast prehistoric sea, has been traversed by dinosaurs, was at the terminus of several great glaciers and home to mastodons, mammoths, giant bison and so much more. Join paleontologists, geologists and dino enthusiasts for a celebration of those clues buried in the ground and streambeds around us that give us clues about the giants who once called this region home.

Celebrating National Fossil Day on October 15
To kick off Museum Center’s celebration of fossils, stop by on National Fossil Day, Wednesday, October 15 as museum staff and paleontologists clean our T-Rex skull and Allosaurus skeleton. Get a rare look behind the glass as our experts work to preserve and maintain these extraordinary fossils.

You can also join Professor Patricia H. Kelley of the University of North Carolina Wilmington during a free lecture Wednesday evening, October 15 at 7 p.m. as she discusses whether evolution is in conflict with creation or whether there is a valid way to reconcile the two.

Join our paleontologist for Cocktails with Curators October 16
Have a drink with our invertebrate paleontologist and learn more about the marine life that once called our region home. Join Brenda Hunda, PhD, as she leads a personal tour of Cincinnati Under the Sea and shares information about the Ordovician period, a 440 million years ago when Cincinnati was covered by a tropical sea. Learn about the largest collection of Late Ordovician fossils in world, housed here at Cincinnati Museum Center and just why Cincinnati contains the most abundant, diverse and best preserved fossils from the Ordovician period. Grab a cocktail with Dr. Hunda during Cocktails with Curators at 7 p.m. on October 16.

Hands-on activities and lectures on October 18
Get your hands dirty as you dig for fossils and measure dinosaur footprints. Create dinosaur sounds using wind tubes and imagine walking through a prehistoric landscape as dinosaurs roar in the distance. Peer through a microscope and help our collections department identify microfossils of fish, birds and rodents dug up from the Sheridan Pit.

You’ll also meet paleontologists, geologists and archaeologists from across the region, as well as Museum Center’s experts: Glenn Storrs, PhD, curator of vertebrate paleontology; Brenda Hunda, PhD, curator of invertebrate paleontology; and Bob Genheimer, curator of archaeology. Pick the brains of local experts and learn more about the fascinating fossils found in our region. Speak with experts from the University of Cincinnati, Miami University and Marietta College about the opportunities to pursue educations in the fields of paleontology, geology and archaeology. Watch and ask questions as volunteers in the Paleo Lab examine fossils excavated during one of Museum Center’s digs in Montana and the Dakotas.

For those young paleontologists and dino enthusiasts, there is plenty of fossil fun to be had around the building. Complete a special fossil scavenger hunt in the Museum of Natural History & Science then stop by Nature’s Trading Post and turn in your points for your very own fossil to take home. Practice your fossil identification skills by matching pictures of fossils with the animal they came from and spin the fossil wheel to win a prize.

And don’t miss lectures in the Museum of Natural History & Science. Join Dr. Dale Gnidovec, curator of the Orton Geological Museum, as he sheds light on carnivorous dinosaurs and why birds are dinosaurs. You can also learn about life at the bottom of the ocean that once covered Cincinnati and beyond during a lecture by Jack Kallmeyer, president of the Dry Dredgers.

Don’t miss Fossil Week at Cincinnati Museum Center October 15 – 18. For more information and a complete list of Fossil Week activities, visit www.cincymuseum.org/events/fossil-week.