July 9, Waco, Texas
Waco Mammoth National Monument’s First Birthday
July 29 – 31, Albany, Oregon
“Treasures of the Northwest” 2016 NFMS/AFMS Show
On July 29 – 31, the Willamette Agate & Mineral Society will host the 2016 NFMS/AFMS show in Albany, OR. The theme for this year’s show is ‘Treasures of the Northwest.’ There will be incredible displays, field trips, and a silent auction. Only $10 for a three-day pass! Check http://www.wamsi.org/content/2016-nfmsafms-show for more info.
August 13 – 14, Clarksville, Indiana
‘Life in the Ordovician: A Fossil Symposium’ at Falls of the Ohio State Park
On August 13 & 14, a special symposium for amateur paleontologists will take place at Falls of the Ohio State Park in Clarksville, Indiana. Hear from renowned stratigraphers/paleontologists such as Dr. Carl Brett, Dr. Benjamin Dattilo, and Dr. Rebecca Freeman, along with amateur paleontologists like Jack Kallmeyer (Dry Dredgers) and John Catalani (MAPS). Participate in a behind-the-scenes tour of the park’s fossil collection and see the amazing “An Ancient Sea” gallery. Learn more at http://www.fallsoftheohio.org/Fossil_Symposium.html.
Register ($20) by August 4. To register or obtain more information, contact park paleontologist Alan Goldstein at [email protected].
August 13, Hillsboro, Oregon
2016 Northwest Fossil Fest
Presented by the North America Research Group (NARG), the 2016 Northwest Fossil Fest will take place on August 13th at the Rice Museum. There will be informative lectures, gorgeous fossil displays, kids’ activities, a fossil ID table, and fossil preparation demonstrations! You won’t want to miss it! More details forthcoming. Check http://www.narg-online.com for updates.
August 26 – 28, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia
Canadian Paleontological Conference 2016
August 31, online
The first FOSSIL webinar will take place in the evening on Wednesday, August 31, and our speaker will be The Fossil Guy, Jayson Kowinsky. Webinars are online videoconferences typically presenting a topic by a leader, and with real-time participation from participants. There will be no charge to attend the webinars and you can pick and choose which ones you want to attend. We are still finalizing the details for the first few webinars; we’ll keep everyone updated via social media and community.myfossil.org. A schedule will be distributed after all of the Fall webinar dates are determined. Questions? Contact [email protected].
September 10, Orlando, Florida
Fossil Fest at the Orlando Science Center
September 23, 1-5pm, Denver, CO
FOSSIL-sponsored short course held prior to the Geological Society of America Annual Meeting taking place Sept 25-28.
The FOSSIL Project plans to offer a half-day short course called “Facilitating effective STEM learning and public engagement in paleontology” prior to national GSA 2016. This short course is intended for professionals (including graduate students), amateurs, and K-12 teachers. We will explore best practices for engaging both formal and informal STEM learners with paleontological data. Topics to be covered include: (1) contributing to and benefiting from digitization efforts of fossil collections; (2) incorporating fossils into the design of curricula that satisfy the Next Generation Science Standards; (3) fostering engagement and learning by amateurs; and (4) using social media to mobilize the community. Laptops are required and digital cameras are recommended. Find out more and register before August 22 at
http://community.geosociety.org/gsa2016/science-careers/courses.
Scholarship opportunity! Ten (10) fossil club members will receive reimbursement funding to attend both the short course *and* the four-day GSA meeting. Please contact [email protected] for more details.
And don’t forget, if you want to present research at GSA this year, the abstract deadline is July 12.
September 25 – 28, Denver, Colorado
Geological Society of America national meeting
The annual national meeting of the Geological Society of America is taking place September 25-28 in Denver, CO. Thousands and thousands of earth science professionals, students, industry members, amateurs, and interested public attend the national meeting each year. There are always outstanding paleontology presentations at GSA meetings and we encourage the myFOSSIL community to attend! The FOSSIL Project team will hold a short course on Friday, September 23, prior to the meeting; we will also have an exhibit booth during the meeting, as well as interesting research presentations from members of the FOSSIL team. For those interested in presenting a research talk or poster, the abstract submission deadline is July 12. Check out the GSA website for more details.
September 24, Ellerbe, North Carolina
Rankin Museum Fossil Fair
The Rankin Museum, 131 W. Church Street, Ellerbe, NC 28338 will have a fossil fair, Sept.24, 2016 from 10 am to 3 pm. There will be 4 classes of 25 to 30 kids to ready them for one hours hunting in the Aurora fossil material and visits to the museum and NCFC collections inside. The museum has the best Amazonia Collection in the Southeast. Classes will be 10 am, 11 am, 12-1 lunch, 1pm and 2 pm. Contact: Ruffin Tucker, [email protected] if you’d like to display your fossils or for more information.
March 19-21, 2017, Pittsburgh, PA
Theme session at joint Northeast / North-Central Geological Society of America regional meeting.
FOSSIL has submitted a proposal for a theme session (both oral and poster) to the organizers of the 2017 NE/NC GSA regional meeting taking place in Pittsburgh next March. Hopefully our proposal will be accepted and then we can begin planning a great session featuring both amateurs and professionals in paleontology.
TBA – We are still planning a fossil preparation PaleoBlitz for later this year. Ronny Leder, the FOSSIL Project’s preparation guru, just welcomed a new baby boy on June 18th so plans for the PaleoBlitz are understandably slow-going at the moment!
Visit http://community.myfossil.org/events/ for more events or to add your own to the calendar!