Earth Science Club of Northern Illinois

ESCONI Gem, Mineral & Fossil Show

Dolomite Calcite Specimen for the 2016 ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show

Here is another exciting specimen for the auctions at the 2016 ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show on March 5th and March 6th. That’s less that 2 weeks away!
Read more: Dolomite Calcite Specimen for the 2016 ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show
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Cotton Crustacean – Paleontology T-shirts

Get your paleo t-shirts at Cotton Crustacean. There are t-shirts with Anomalocaris, Dunkleosteus, Elasmosaur, Ammonite, Helicoprion, Mosasaur, Toxoceras, Trilobita, and others. There are also art prints of some of the images. Check it out! Cotton Crustacean is a San Francisco Bay Area based, family run, boutique t-shirt company owned and operated by Aaron John Gregory and Jackie Perez Gratz, featuring original scientific illustrations drawn by Gregory and printed locally in the Bay Area on the highest quality, 100% cotton, American-made tees from American Apparel. Prehistoric aquatic animals, prehistoric terrestrial life (anything from dinosaurs, giant insects, to ice-age mammals), as…
Read more: Cotton Crustacean – Paleontology T-shirts
ESCONI Gem, Mineral & Fossil Show

2016 ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show is 2 Weeks from Today!

Here are pictures of a Flourite specimen that will be available during the ESCONI 2016 Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show. Come on out… there’s much, much more!
Read more: 2016 ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show is 2 Weeks from Today!
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Calcite and Sphalerite Specimen for the Auction at the 2016 ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show

This beautiful specimen can be yours… just come on down to the ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil show on March 5th and 6th. That’s just a little over 2 weeks away!
Read more: Calcite and Sphalerite Specimen for the Auction at the 2016 ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show
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pteros.com – New resource on all things Pterosaur

A new website www.pteros.com is chock full with information on pterosaurs. There’s a good explanation on “What is a pterosaur”, information of the various families and individual species, and many, many, colorful pictures. The website will feature 30 pterosaurs and release at least one new pterosaur per week until all 150 groups are represented. Earth Archives has a story about the website. Check it out! What is a pterosaur? They were not dinosaurs as most assume, instead being flying reptiles and rather close relatives. These creatures are often known as “pterodactyls” in the public consciousness but in reality are known…
Read more: pteros.com – New resource on all things Pterosaur
ESCONI Gem, Mineral & Fossil Show

First Preview of Auction Material for the 2016 ESCONI Show

Here’s the first preview of the 2016 ESCONI Show. The show is just 3 weeks from today! This is a small collection of Pit 14 shark spines from Mazon Creek. This material will be part of the auctions at the show. Keep watching there are many more previews to come!
Read more: First Preview of Auction Material for the 2016 ESCONI Show
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Happy Darwin Day!

Today is Charles Darwin’s 207th birthday. There’s a web page to commemorate the day. The event list is long and varied… Get out and celebrate Science!
Read more: Happy Darwin Day!
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Rock River Valley Gem and Mineral Society Annual Open House – April 4th from 10-3

The Rock River Valley Gem and Mineral Society is hosting the annual “Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Open House” on April 4th from 10-3. The location is: North Suburban Library6340 N 2nd StLoves Park, IL 61111 This fun and educational activity is free and open to the public. Members of the society will display their collections of rocks, minerals, and fossils for the public to view and learn about. There will be games and activities for kids with prizes! Children can pick a geode for their own collection! We’ll even crack it open to expose the hidden crystals. Please bring any…
Read more: Rock River Valley Gem and Mineral Society Annual Open House – April 4th from 10-3
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Did Sabercats Have Spotted and Striped Coats? – Phenomena : Laelaps

A Smilodon tries to get a better bite on a sloth at the La Brea Tar Pits and Museum. Photo by Brian Switek. Brian Switek explores the coats of the sabercats over on his blog, Laelaps. By looking at the coat patterns of extant cats, he explores the possibilities. Today’s cats wear a beautiful array of coat patterns, from plain to dense constellations of spots and stripes. These different color options are largely dictated by two genes – Taqpep and Edn3 – the first of which lays down the general pattern of spots and stripes while the second controls…
Read more: Did Sabercats Have Spotted and Striped Coats? – Phenomena : Laelaps
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Mosasaurs!

FossilGuy has a page on Mosasaurs that contains just about anything you could think of asking… and more. There’s pictures, video, and facts galore. Enjoy!
Read more: Mosasaurs!
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ESCONI Support for Educators

ESCONI provides support for educators in the Earth Sciences (geology and paleontology) by making mineral and fossil specimens available for loan. The types and quantities of the specimens, as well as the period of the loan are flexible and can be tailored to specific needs. For more information please contact Dave at: fossil54@att.net
Read more: ESCONI Support for Educators
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ESCONI Events February 2016

Fri, Feb 12 ESCONI General Meeting 8:00 p.m. College of Dupage – Tech Ed (TEC) Building, Room 1038B (Map) – Topic: “Perry Mastodon Site Revisted, Glen Ellyn Illinois” by Steve Moshier of Wheaton College Sat, Feb 13 ESCONI Mineralogy Meeting – 7:30 p.m. College of Dupage – Tech Ed (TEC) Building, Room 1038B (Map) – Topic: “Mineral Video” Sat, Feb 20 ESCONI Paleontology Study Group Meeting, 7:30 p.m. College of Dupage – Tech Ed (TEC) Building, Room 1038B (Map) – Topic: To Be Announced ESCONI Archaeology Study Group Meeting, 7:30 p.m. College of Dupage – Tech Ed (TEC) Building, Room 1038B…
Read more: ESCONI Events February 2016
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Next on NOVA: “Himalayan Megaquake” January 27, 2016 at 9 PM

The next episode of PBS’s Nova is “Himalayan Megaquake”. It starts airing on January 27, 2016 at 9 PM on PBS. There’s a preview on the web and like their other shows, full episodes should be available online. Enjoy! Program Description: Dramatic eyewitness footage reveals the shocking quake that rocked Nepal in April 2015. Join scientists as they examine why this earthquake was so devastating, how the victims are rebuilding and whether another earthquake looms on the horizon.
Read more: Next on NOVA: “Himalayan Megaquake” January 27, 2016 at 9 PM
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Palaeocast Episode 57: Wealden Fossils

Front cover of English Wealden Fossils, a field guide to the fossils of this group, containing everything needed to know about the fossils of the Wealden including vertebrates, invertebrates, and plants. Darren Naish was involved with the chapter on crocodilians, and he also wrote the theropod chapter. Anyone interested in learning more about the fossils of this area should take a look. Palaeocast has an interesting podcast about Cretaceous fossils in England. There's an interview with Dr. Darren Naish, who has a great blog called Tetrapod Zoology and a podcast called tetzoo. The Wealden Supergroup of southern England is known for…
Read more: Palaeocast Episode 57: Wealden Fossils
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Next on NOVA: “Mystery Beneath the Ice” January 20, 2016 at 9 PM

The next episode of PBS’s Nova is “Mystery Beneath the Ice”. It starts airing on January 20, 2016 at 9 PM on PBS. There’s a preview on the web and like their other shows, full episodes should be available online. Enjoy! Program Description: Tiny, transparent, and threatened, krill are crucial to the Antarctic ecosystem and, maybe, to the future of all our oceans. The population of krill has crashed since the 1970s for reasons that continue to baffle the experts. A leading theory says that krill’s life cycle is driven by an internal body clock that responds to the waxing…
Read more: Next on NOVA: “Mystery Beneath the Ice” January 20, 2016 at 9 PM
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Behind a Shopping Center in New Jersey, Signs of a Mass Extinction

The New York Times has an interesting story about a unique fossil find in New Jersey. While there is much evidence pointing to an impact event that ended the “Age of Dinosaurs” 66 million years ago, no one has found a fossil deposit from the exact event. Behind a Lowe’s home improvement store in southern New Jersey, Kenneth J. Lacovara thinks he has found just that. Mr. Lacovara, a professor of paleontology and geology at nearby Rowan University calls the deposit a “mass death assemblage”. 66 million years ago, this site was under water, 10 to 15 miles off the…
Read more: Behind a Shopping Center in New Jersey, Signs of a Mass Extinction
Around the Web, Trilobite Tuesday

American Museum of Natural History: Trilobite of the Week 01/12/2016

The trilobite of the week from the American Museum of Natural History is Nanolichas parvus. It’s from the Upper Fezouata Formation of the lower Ordovician of Morocco. This guy was found in the Dra Valley, new Zagora, Morrocco. It measures about 6 cm.
Read more: American Museum of Natural History: Trilobite of the Week 01/12/2016
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PBS NOVA: “Life’s Rocky Start”

The next episode of PBS’s Nova is “Life’s Rocky Start”. It starts airing on January 13, 2016 at 9 PM on PBS. There’s a preview on the web and like their other shows, full episodes should be available online. Sounds like a good one, enjoy! Program Description: Four and a half billion years ago, the young Earth was a hellish place—a seething chaos of meteorite impacts, volcanoes belching noxious gases, and lightning flashing through a thin, torrid atmosphere. Then, in a process that has puzzled scientists for decades, life emerged. But how? NOVA joins mineralogist Robert Hazen as he journeys…
Read more: PBS NOVA: “Life’s Rocky Start”
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Support ESCONI with AmazonSmile

Support ESCONI Did you know you can support ESCONI by shopping at Amazon? Amazon will donate 0.5% of the price of your eligible AmazonSmile purchases to ESCONI whenever you shop on AmazonSmile. AmazonSmile is the same Amazon you already know. Same products, same prices, same service. Support ESCONI by naming us as your charitable organization before shopping at smile.amazon.com. Click here to get started: http://smile.amazon.com/ch/36-6108589 The purpose of ESCONI (Earth Science Club of Northern Illinois) is to promote an interest in the earth sciences, among these are geology, paleontology, mineralogy, micromounting, and the lapidary arts. Thanks!
Read more: Support ESCONI with AmazonSmile
Calendar of Events

ESCONI January Mineral Study Group Cancelled

The ESCONI January Mineral Study Group meeting is canceled due to a winter weather storm advisory (3-6 inches of snow). We were planning to do a video.
Read more: ESCONI January Mineral Study Group Cancelled

Friday, April 10th	General Meeting – 8:00 PM via Zoom. Jessica Hull will present “Life in the Devonian Period, The Age of Fishes.”
Saturday, April 11th	Junior Study Group Meeting – 2:00 PM, in person at the College of DuPage Technical Education Center (TEC) Building – Room 1038A (Map). Katherine Howard will present on Sand and Sediment Collecting. Specifics of this meeting are available from Scott Galloway, 630-670-2591, gallowayscottf@gmail.com.
Saturday, April 18th	Paleontology Study Group – 7:30 PM via Zoom and in person at the College of DuPage, TEC, Room 1038B (Map). Keith Robitschek will present “Digging the Marl of the Lance Formation.”
Friday, April 24th	MAPS Expo XLVII – Springfield, IL.
Saturday, April 25th	MAPS Expo XLVII – Springfield, IL.
Sunday, April 26th	MAPS Expo XLVII – Springfield, IL.
No meeting this month	Mineralogy Study Group

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