Pictures from Earth Science’s National Fossil Day Oct. 15
Earth scientists from UALR celebrated National Fossil Day with an open house from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 15, on the first floor of the Science Lab Building where the public could view actual fossils and casts of fossils from the university’s collection and from other institutional collections.
Joe Daniel, a paleontologist and an alumnus of the UALR geology program, said National Fossil Day mementos — pins, postcards, posters, magnets, and other items — were given away. UALR faculty and students were present to answer questions.
“In addition to the fossils already on display, we opened the classrooms and showcase several other fossils, both from our collections and from other participating institutions, such as the Arkansas Geological Survey,” Daniel said.
The event was open to the public and all ages welcome. People were welcome to bring any fossils they would like identified that they can compare to those on display. Over 500 million years of Arkansas’s history was exhibited.”
Fossils discovered on the nation’s public lands preserve ancient life from all major eras of Earth’s history and from every major group of animal or plant. In the national parks, for example, fossils range from primitive algae found high in the mountains of Glacier National Park, Montana, to the remains of ice-age animals found in caves at Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona.
Public lands provide visitors with opportunities to interpret a fossil’s ecological context by observing fossils in the same place those animals and plants lived millions of years ago.
For more information, contact Dr. Jeff Connelly, chair of UALR’s Department of Earth Science, at 501-569-3546.
The following are pictures from UALR’s National Fossil Day. Enjoy!!
Dr. Joe Daniel (right) talks with people visiting National Fossil Day exhibits.
Going on a “dig”….Kids simulate a fossil dig in Earth Sciences
What’s Fossil Day without a few Dinosaurs??
Young AND Old
2 Undergrads (from left, Tracy and Lauren) discussing Fossil Day, waiting on the next bunch of viewers. Approximately 250 visitors checked out National Fossil Day.
And we’re digging with “some help”. Tracy and Lauren work with the kids showing them how to use various materials on a fossil dig.
Thanks goes to the Museum of Discovery for bringing some of their teaching resources to National Fossil Day.
