CINCINNATI – Cincinnati Museum Center’s Fossil Fest is back, and this year they’re getting a little help from the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden. Fossil Fest will take place at the Zoo from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, November 5.
This year’s Fossil Fest is bringing fossils to life in a unique way. In addition to seeing, touching and examining fossils, guests can also see their modern-day ancestors nearby. Discover just how much birds, crocodiles, lizards and insects have in common with your favorite dinosaurs and how similar Indian and African elephants are to the mastodons and mammoths that once roamed the area.
Paleontologists, geologists and biologists from 11 local and regional organizations will have hands-on stations set up throughout the Zoo. Dig for fossils and measure dinosaur footprints or help CMC sort microfossils using microscopes. Take a peek at some of Dr. Dale Gnidovec’s favorite fossils from The Ohio State University’s Orton Geological Museum , including petrified wood, mastodon teeth and a T. Rex toe bone. You can also join Dr. Gnidovec for a paleontologist’s look at the fact and fiction behind Jurassic Park.
Explore CMC’s best trilobite collections with a little help from CMC invertebrate paleontologist Dr. Brenda Hunda and Dr. Dave Meyer from the University of Cincinnati . Bring your own fossils in and have them identified by the Cincinnati Dry Dredgers, a group of paleontologists and fossil enthusiasts. And get a first look at Miami University’s new Karl E. Limper Geology Museum and their fossil collections.
Additional programming and activities will be provided by the Kentucky Paleontological Society, Contemporary Arts Center, Cincinnati Nature Center, Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Behringer-Crawford Museum, Marietta College and Friends of Big Bone, Inc.
Fossil Fest is included with admission to the Zoo and is free to Cincinnati Zoo members. CMC Members receive a 50% discount on tickets for November 5 only. For more information please contact the Cincinnati Zoo box office at (513) 281-4700 or the Cincinnati Museum Center box office at (513) 287-7000.
For more information, visit www.cincymuseum.org