Category Archives: Past Events

Hands-On Fossils Event, Sunday June 3, 2018

Ready for more Hands-On Fossils events? Brody Hovatter from Prof. Greg Wilson’s lab has scheduled more microfossil sorting sessions. This time we will be at the Burke (not the lab) and teachers from the DIG Field School program will also be invited.

Event Details:
Where: The Burke Room at the Burke Museum in Seattle, WA
When: 11a–2p Sunday, June 3rd

Please RSPV to admin@digfieldschool.org, or contact us if you have any questions.

May Meeting – Sunday May 27, 2018

UW Professor and Burke Curator, Greg Wilson, will share news about the ongoing Hell Creek work in Montana. Greg is responsible for organizing the digging efforts that have brought fantastic dinosaur bones to the Burke, including Clarissa the hadrosaur and the Tufts-Love T. rex.
Find out what has been accomplished and what is planned for this summer’s expedition.
We will meet at the Burke Museum, downstairs in the old cafe, now called the Boiserie.

 


 

Professor Greg Wilson:

“I received my PhD in Integrative Biology from the University of California, Berkeley in 2004. I spent 7 months of an NSF Postdoctoral Fellowship in Helsinki, Finland before taking a curatorship at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science. I stayed at the DMNS until December of 2007 when I moved to Seattle to start in the Biology Department. I also serve as Curator of Vertebrate Paleontology at the Burke Museum. Please see the Paleobiology website for more information on the UW paleobiology community.”

Burke Museum, Seattle WA
Boiserie Room
May 27, 2018
1pm-3pm

 

Guests and visitors are always welcome.

 

Dino Days 2018

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March Meeting – Sunday March 25, 2018

University of Washington Professor, Christian Sidor will update us on his Antarctic fieldwork. Be there to see the latest and greatest from this year’s adventures.

We will meet at the Burke Museum, downstairs in the old cafe, now called the Boiserie.

I hope to see you there.
Tom Wolken
NPA President

 


 

Paleobiogeography of Pangea
The largest mass extinction in Earth history occurred at the end of the Permian, roughly 251 Ma. Although the cause of this catastrophe has been difficult to pin down, its effects on terrestrial ecosystems are clearly seen in the fossil record. To date, most of the data on extinction and survivorship for this critical interval come from the Karoo Basin of South Africa. However, this restricted geographic and sedimentary area constrains the degree to which broader statements can be made about global patterns of tetrapod evolution. For this reason, I have been actively involved in fieldwork that expands the geographic coverage of Permian and Triassic localities. Recent exploration in Antarctica, Tanzania, Zambia, and Niger have produced fossils that change the way paleontologists view Pangean faunas.-Christian Sidor

 

Burke Museum, Seattle WA
Boiserie Room
March 25, 2018
1pm-3pm

 

Guests and visitors are always welcome.

 

January Meeting – Sunday January 28, 2018

Our speaker for the January 28, 2018 NPA Meeting will be George Last. George will fill us in on the Coyote Canyon Mammoth Site project in the Tri-Cities area. Please check out their website and be impressed by their cool Citizen Science organization.

We will meet at the Burke Museum, downstairs in the old cafe, now called the Boiserie.

 

“The Mid-Columbia Basin Old Natural Education Sciences (MCBONES) Research Center Foundation provides local K-12 teachers and their students an opportunity to actively participate in laboratory and field-based research in paleontology, geology, paleoecology, and other natural sciences primarily within the Mid-Columbia Region of southeast Washington State.

The keystone of the foundation’s work is the Coyote Canyon Mammoth Site.

The Coyote Canyon mammoth was discovered in November 1999 during excavation and hauling of fine-grained soil for use as topsoil.

In late 2007, the land went up for sale, and the presence of the mammoth was disclosed.

In the spring of 2008, a pedestrian survey and test excavation confirmed the location of the mammoth skeleton, uncovering a number of mammoth-size bones including a humerus and scapula in near articulated position. Excitement grew that this site might offer a unique opportunity for students, teachers, and researchers to investigate well-preserved mammoth sub-fossils in the context of Ice Age flood deposits.

In June 2008, the 27-acre property was purchased by two Tri-Cities brothers (doing business as Horse Heaven Hills LLC) and the site was turned into an educational science-based research facility for students, teachers, scientists and the public.”

 

Burke Museum, Seattle WA
Boiserie Room
January 28, 2018
1pm-3pm

 

Guests and visitors are always welcome.

 

There will be a raffle to win an Estwing classic leather handle rock hammer.
You must be a member and in attendance to win!

Hands-On Fossils Event, Sunday May 6, 2018 – CANCELED

This event has been canceled.

 

Ready for more Hands-On Fossils events? Brody Hovatter from Prof. Greg Wilson’s lab has scheduled more microfossil sorting sessions. This time we will be at the Burke (not the lab) and teachers from the DIG Field School program will also be invited.

Event Details:
Where: The Burke Room at the Burke Museum in Seattle, WA
When: 11a–2p Sunday, May 6th

Please RSPV to admin@digfieldschool.org, or contact us if you have any questions.

November Meeting – Sunday November 26, 2017

Our speaker for the November 26th, 2017 NPA Meeting will now be Joe Small and our own Gary Burgess. If you were around 4 or 5 years ago, you might remember Joe presenting his work on a Boldly Audacious New Chasmosaurine Ceratopsid skull from Montana’s Judith River Formation (Triceratops family). Joe and his scientific team were preparing a paper on the find and he brought along a cast he had made of the original fossil skull so that detailed examination could be performed.

Joe and Gary will take us through the exciting progression of finding, extracting, preparing, studying and publishing. Yes, it took 11 years, discovered in September of 2005 and the paper was published in May of 2016.
‘Judith’, the impressive 5 foot long skull cast, will be at the meeting!
Here is a link to the scientific description paper:
(Note, there is a ‘download a .pdf’ button)
We will be meeting in the Burke Room, give yourselves time to find parking.

November 26, 2017
1pm-3pm

Guests and visitors are always welcome.

Notice: A raffle item will be given away at the meeting. It is a cool loop with an integral LED light!

Metaline Falls Trilobites 2017 Field Trip Photos

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Saddle Mountain 2017 Field Trip Photos

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September 2017 Meeting Moved to October 15, 2017!

The program will remain the same, just the date changes.

Tom Wolken and Gregg Wilson will be on site this Sunday just in case some new prospects found us and show up expecting the NPA to be there. We will take them out for a beer (or a root beer). If you want to hang out with us…

Sorry for the late notice and I hope you all can make it on October 15th.

NEW DATE:

NPA Meeting
October 15, 2017
1pm-3pm

Burke Room at the Burke Museum

Methane Seeps
Bill Halligan will share his experience of exploring fossilized methane seeps. These large mounds, in the area long ago covered by an inland sea, once offered a rich environment for life. Like the mounds at Tepee Buttes south of Colorado Springs, these land forms were not understood until the recent discovery of active seep sites on the ocean floor.

Bill is an NPA member and has studied these sites in the field. He has coordinated with other researchers who are investigating the fossils associated with ancient seeps, including joint field work this summer. The fossils he has expertly prepared are both fascinating and beautiful.

Bring a fossil to share at Show and Tell. Guests are always welcome to attend. See you there!