The Bruce Museum in Greenwich, Connecticut, celebrates National Fossil Day on Wednesday, October 13, with a Family Fossil Fun Night! from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.
National Fossil Day is a celebration established in partnership with the National Park Service and the American Geological Institute; it was organized to promote public awareness and stewardship of fossils, as well as to foster a greater appreciation of fossils’ scientific and educational value. The Bruce Museum will offer an exploratory gallery hunt for fossils in the Museum’s exhibitions, hands-on fossil casting in the Education Workshop. All activities are free with Museum admission and are suitable for people of all abilities ages 5 years and up. No reservations necessary.
Visit http://www.nature.nps.gov/geology/nationalfossilday/index.cfm, for more information on National Fossil Day.
The Bruce Museum’s own paleontologist and new science curator Gina Gould will be on hand to talk about the work paleontologists do collecting, preserving and interpreting the fossils they find. Dr. Gould was the project coordinator for the $45-million renovation of the fossil halls at the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) in New York City and the project director for the Florida Museum of Natural History’s new permanent exhibition “Hall of Florida Fossils: Evolution of Life and Land” in 1998.
This special evening event complements the Museum’s current exhibition Evolution of the Natural World: Highlights of the Bruce Museum Collection, which will be closing on October 17, 2010. The show features mineral, fossil and animal specimens from the Bruce Museum’s permanent collection that highlight the development of novelty and complexity in the evolution of the planet and its living things. Large murals bring to life the long extinct animals and plants on display and help visitors understand Earth’s origins and how the diversity of life has changed over time.
Image: Coelophysis bauri, cast Mesozoic, Late Triassic (235-201 mya) Ghost Ranch, New Mexico Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Fred Elser Bruce Museum Collection 2009.12
The Bruce Museum is located at 1 Museum Drive in Greenwich, Connecticut. General admission is $7 for adults, $6 for seniors and students, and free for children under five and Bruce Museum members. The Museum is located near Interstate-95, Exit 3, and a short walk from the Greenwich, CT, train station. Free, on-site parking is available. The Bruce Museum is accessible to individuals with disabilities.
For information, call the Bruce Museum at (203) 869-0376, or visit the Bruce Museum website at www.brucemuseum.org