Hi Café Enthusiasts,
Few things spark the imagination more than learning about prehistoric times and about the animals that roamed the earth long before man. This month, join us for a dinosaur café and an interesting evening discussion about exciting new discoveries in paleontological research. Our March Science Café (description below) will be held on Tuesday 3/20 at Tir Na Nog on South Blount Street. Our speaker for the evening will be Dr. Lindsay Zanno, Director of the Paleontology and Geology Laboratory in the Museum’s new Nature Research Center.
Dinosaurs!
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
6:30-8:30 p.m. with discussion beginning at 7:00 followed by Q&A
Location: Tir Na Nog, 218 South Blount Street, Raleigh, 833-7795
RSVP: Katey.ahmann@ncdenr.gov, 919-733-7450 x 531
Clash of the Titans: Asian immigrants and the dinosaurs of the American West.
The Early Cretaceous was a time of turmoil across the American West. Titan-lizards (sauropods) and gargantuan predators (allosaurs) thundered across the landscape, dominating terrestrial ecosystems as they had for millions of years. Little did they know that their reign in North America was drawing to a close. A wave of new “super-charged” dinosaurs emigrating from Asia was about to hit west coast and change the landscape forever. Join Nature Research Center Paleontologist Dr. Lindsay Zanno for a chat about her team’s latest dinosaur expeditions in the American West and learn how the dinosaurs from these two great continents clashed here in North America and who survived the epic confrontation.
About our speaker:
Lindsay E. Zanno, Ph. D. is serving as Director of the Nature Research Center’s new Paleontology and Geology Laboratory. Dr. Zanno comes to the NRC from the University of Wisconsin-Parkside, where she was an Assistant Professor of Anatomy, and the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago, Illinois, where she remains a Research Associate in the Department of Geology. Her primary interest centers on the morphology, evolutionary relationships, and paleoecology of theropod dinosaurs—a group that includes the iconic megapredator T. rex as well as living birds. Dr. Zanno’s vibrant, field-based research program will greatly enlarge the paleontology volunteer core at the NCMNS. Citizen scientists will participate in the collection and preparation of dinosaur and other vertebrate fossils and help tackle patterns of faunal turnover, extinction, and replacement in ancient terrestrial ecosystems of the southwestern U.S.A
As always, it helps so much if you can send me an email letting me know if you are coming to the cafe. Having an approximate participant count helps communication with the restaurant so that they can be prepared for serving our group.
Thanks very much for your support for our events,
We look forward to seeing you at the March 20th cafe!
Katey
PS! We will be celebrating the Museum’s new Nature Research Center opening with a 24 hour Grand Opening Event beginning on April 20th at 5pm and lasting until 5pm on Saturday April 21st. Whether you’re a night owl, an early bird, or perhaps neither, don’t worry, make plans to come downtown for all of the on-going music, activities and fun. We will be having a grand celebration!
