Category: Calendar of Events
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ESCONI January 2026 Paleontology Meeting – January 17th, 2026 at 7:30 PM – “Getting Lost Can Lead to Treasure – Edrioasteroids”
Jack Kallmeyer President of the Dry Dredgers will present “Getting Lost Can Lead to Treasure – Edrioasteroids – What to Do When You Find Thousands”. The meeting will be held on January 17th, 2026 at 7:30 PM. While growing my early collection in the Cincinnatian, one of the most desired fossils that I sought after
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ESCONI January 2026 General Meeting – January 9th, 2026 at 8:00 PM – “Fossil Birds of Wyoming”
Jean-Pierre Cavigelli, of Casper College in Casper, WY, will present “Fossil Birds of Wyoming”. Wyoming is well known for its fossils of all kinds. Dinosaurs are probably the most famous. They were first discovered here in the late 1800’s and are still being uncovered and studied nowadays. Fossil fishes from the southwest corner of the
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2026 ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show – Preview #1: Tully Monsters
This is the preview post #1 for the 2026 ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show Live Auction. The ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show for 2026 will be held on March 21th and 22nd at the DuPage Fairgrounds in Wheaton, IL, which is the same location as last year. All details can be found here.
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ESCONI Events for January 2026
Field trips require membership, but visitors are welcome at all meetings! Saturday, Jan 3rd Mineralogy Study Group – 7:30 PM via Zoom “Critical Minerals: What are they and Opportunities in Illinois” presented by Dr. Jared Freiburg of the Illinois State Geological Survey. Friday, Jan 9th General Meeting – 8:00 PM via Zoom Jean-Pierre Cavigelli, Tate Geological
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Video for ESCONI December 2025 General Meeting – “Fossils of the Comanche National Grasslands located in southeastern Colorado”
The ESCONI December 2025 General Meeting was held on December 12th, 2025 at 8:00 PM via Zoom. The presenter was Steve Miller of the Western Interior Paleontological Society (WIPS). His topic is “Fossils of the Comanche National Grasslands located in southeastern Colorado”. Fossils of the Comanche National Grasslands located in southeastern Colorado The area offers
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ESCONI December 2025 General Meeting – “Fossils of the Comanche National Grasslands located in southeastern Colorado”
The ESCONI December 2025 General Meeting will be held on December 12th, 2025 at 8:00 PM via Zoom. The presenter is Steve Miller of the Western Interior Paleontological Society (WIPS). His topic is “Fossils of the Comanche National Grasslands located in southeastern Colorado”. Fossils of the Comanche National Grasslands located in southeastern Colorado The area
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Photos from the 2025 ESCONI Holiday Luncheon
The 2025 ESCONI Holiday Luncheon was held on December 6th, 2025 at Warren’s Ale House in Wheaton, IL. We had a nice turnout. President Chris Berg had a very nice speech to highlight where we are and where we are headed for 2026. It was a very special day as we awarded an honorary membership
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ESCONI 2026 Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show – March 21st and 22nd, 2026
The ESCONI 2026 Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show will be held on March 21st and 22nd, 2026 at the DuPage County Fairgrounds.
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Video for ESCONI November 2025 Paleontology Study Group Meeting – “Gonioceras: A Most Unusual Cephalopod”
The November 2025 Paleontology Study Group Meeting was held on November 15th, 2025 via Zoom. John Catalani presented “Gonioceras: A Most Unusual Cephalopod”. The diversity of nautiloid shell shapes in the Upper Ordovician of central Laurentia is remarkable. However, one shape is often missing from lists of shell shapes and that is the so-called “flat-fish”
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ESCONI Events for December 2025
Field trips require membership, but visitors are welcome at all meetings! Sat, Dec 6th Holiday Luncheon– 12:00 Noon at the Warren’s Ale House, 51 Town Square, Wheaton, IL Please RSVP to the following email: RSVPtoESCONI@outlook.com Fri, Dec 12th General Meeting – 8:00 PM – Zoom link Steve Miller, of the Western Interior Paleontological Society (WIPS), will
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Video for ESCONI November 2025 General Meeting – “Mammals of Illinois’ Ice Ages”
The November 2025 General Meeting was held on Friday, November 14th, 2025 via Zoom. Melissa Pardi, Curator of Geology at the Illinois State Museum, presented “Mammals of Illinois’ Ice Ages”. Did you know that Illinois used to have elephants? During the last ice age, North America was home to a wide variety of large, now
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Reminder: ESCONI 2025 Holiday Luncheon
ESCONI’s Holiday LuncheonSaturday, December 6, 2025 – 12:00 noonWarren’s Ale House, 51 Town Square, Wheaton. (Just north of Danada Square East)Website for Warren’s Ale House with Map & Menu:https://warrensalehouse.com/contact-us/RSVP: RSVPtoESCONI@outlook.com
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ESCONI November 2025 Paleontology Study Group Meeting – November 15th, 2025 at 7:30 PM via Zoom – “Gonioceras: A Most Unusual Cephalopod”
The November 2025 Paleontology Study Group Meeting will be held on November 15th, 2025 at 7:30 PM via Zoom. John Cataloni will be presenting “Gonioceras: A Most Unusual Cephalopod”. The diversity of nautiloid shell shapes in the Upper Ordovician of central Laurentia is remarkable. However, one shape is often missing from lists of shell shapes
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ESCONI November 2025 General Meeting – November 14th, 2025 at 8:00 PM via Zoom – “Mammals of Illinois’ Ice Ages”
The November 2025 General Meeting will be held on Friday, November 14th, 2025 at 8:00 via Zoom. Melissa Pardi, Curator of Geology at the Illinois State Museum, will be presenting “Mammals of Illinois’ Ice Ages”. Did you know that Illinois used to have elephants? During the last ice age, North America was home to a
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Save the Date: ESCONI 2025 Holiday Luncheon
ESCONI’s Holiday LuncheonSaturday, December 6, 2025 – 12:00 noonWarren’s Ale House, 51 Town Square, Wheaton. (Just north of Danada Square East)Website for Warren’s Ale House with Map & Menu:https://warrensalehouse.com/contact-us/RSVP: RSVPtoESCONI@outlook.com
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ESCONI November 2025 Mineral Study Group – November 1st, 2025 at 7:30 PM at the College of DuPage – “Fluorite”
The ESCONI Mineral Study Group will meet on Saturday, November 1st, 2025 at 7:30 PM in TEC 1038B at College of DuPage in Glen Ellyn. See Directions and Map below. The program will be on “Fluorite”. Southern Illinois was once a major producer of world-class fluorite specimens, primarily from Hardin County. While no commercial mining currently operates, you
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Will County Forest Preserve: Silurian Trilobite Souvenirs
Event details ***Please note this program is being offered virtually via Zoom.*** Join Donald G. Mikulic for a fascinating look at the trilobite fossils left behind by the Silurian Sea that was once right here in Will County! Mikulic was a senior paleontologist at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and served as the curator of
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ESCONI Events for November 2025
Field trips require membership, but visitors are welcome at all meetings! Sat, Nov 1st Mineralogy Study Group Meeting – 7:30 PM at the College of DuPage Technical Education Center (TEC) Building – Room 1038B (Map) – “Fluorite” Bring your specimens for “Show and Tell” Sat, Nov 8th Junior Group Meeting – 6:30 PM There will be a presentation about the
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Video for ESCONI October 2025 Paleontology Study Group Meeting – “Creating 3D Digital Models for Paleontology”
The October 2025 Paleontology Study Group Meeting will be held on October 18th, 2025 at 7:30 via Zoom. The topic is “Creating 3D Digital Models for Paleontology”. It will be presented byShellie Luallin. Shellie Luallin will be presenting “Creating 3D Digital Models for Paleontology”. 3D models increasingly appear in the digital realm – in TV
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Video for ESCONI October 2025 General Meeting – “Great Zimbabwe among its peers: Exploring the height of ancient civilizations in southern Africa”
The October 2025 General Meeting was held on Friday, October 10th, 2025 at 8:00 via Zoom. Foreman Bandama with the Field Museum presented on African archaeology and anthropology. His presentation is titled “Great Zimbabwe among its peers: Exploring the height of ancient civilizations in southern Africa” There are over twenty-five great African civilizations, besides Egypt.
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Video for ESCONI September 2025 General Meeting – “Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site”
ESCONI General Meeting – Dr. Angela Cooper presented “Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site.” Dr. Angela Cooper is originally from Mascoutah, IL and grew up learning about the great site of Cahokia Mounds. Her educational and professional career has centered around Illinois archaeology. Dr. Cooper received her MA from University of Tulsa studying the relationships of
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Mazon Monday #292: Mazon Creek Fossil Day 2025
This is Mazon Monday post #292. What’s your favorite Mazon Creek fossil? Tell us at email:esconi.info@gmail.com. We had a nice turnout at the Mazon Creek Fossil Day event in the Coal City library a few weeks ago. There were multiple displays by members and people brought in some of their finds for identification. Last week’s Fossil
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ESCONI October 2025 Paleontology Study Group Meeting – October 18th, 2025 at 7:30 PM via Zoom – “Creating 3D Digital Models for Paleontology”
The October 2025 Paleontology Study Group Meeting will be held on October 18th, 2025 at 7:30 via Zoom. The topic is “Creating 3D Digital Models for Paleontology”. It will be presented by Shellie Luallin. Shellie Luallin will be presenting “Creating 3D Digital Models for Paleontology”. 3D models increasingly appear in the digital realm – in
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ESCONI October 2025 General Meeting – October 10th, 2025 at 8:00 PM via Zoom – “Great Zimbabwe among its peers: Exploring the height of ancient civilizations in southern Africa”
The October 2025 General Meeting will be held on Friday, October 10th, 2025 at 8:00 via Zoom. Foreman Bandama with the Field Museum will be presenting on African archaeology and anthropology. His presentation is titled “Great Zimbabwe among its peers: Exploring the height of ancient civilizations in southern Africa” There are over twenty-five great African
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Reminder: 2025 Mazon Creek Fossil Day, October 11th, 2025 at the Coal City Library
The 2025 Mazon Creek Fossil Day will be held on October 11th, 2025 at the Coal City Library from 10 AM to 3 PM. See you there! Previous events
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ESCONI October 2025 Mineral Study Group – October 4th, 2025 at 7:30 PM at the College of DuPage – “Calcite”
The ESCONI Mineral Study Group will meet on Saturday October 4th, 2025 at 7:30 PM in TEC 1038B at College of DuPage in Glen Ellyn. See Directions and Map below. The program will be on “Calcite”, presented by Mike Litt and Dave Carlson. Calcite has the largest variety of forms of any mineral, and may
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ESCONI Events for October 2025
Field trips require membership, but visitors are welcome at all meetings! Sat, Oct 4th Mineralogy Study Group Meeting – 7:30 at the College of DuPage Technical Education Center (TEC) Building – Room 1038B (Map) – “Calcite” Fri, Oct 10th General Meeting – 8:00 PM – via Zoom. Foreman Bandama of the Field Museum will be presenting “Great Zimbabwe
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ESCONI September 2025 Paleontology Meeting – “Show and Tell”
There were some very interesting things on display at the September 2025 Paleontology Meeting. The theme of the night was “Show and Tell”. We had over 20 attendees with everything from Mazon Creek to crinoids to nautiloids to a large model of a Velociraptor. John Catalani, Paleontology Study Group chairman, gave us a preview of
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ESCONI September 2025 Paleontology Meeting – 2025-09-20 at 7:30 PM – “Show and Tell” at College of DuPage
For the newcomers, the first meeting back from summer vacation has traditionally been called “Brag Night” or “Show and Tell”. Well… The ESCONI September 2025 Paleontology Meeting will be held on 2025-09-20 at 7:30 PM at the College of DuPage Technical Education Center (TEC) Building – Room 1038B (Map). The topic of the meeting is “Show and
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ESCONI September 2025 General Meeting via Zoom – “Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site”
ESCONI General Meeting – 8:00 PM via Zoom – Dr. Angela Cooper will be presenting “Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site.” Zoom link Dr. Angela Cooper is originally from Mascoutah, IL and grew up learning about the great site of Cahokia Mounds. Her educational and professional career has centered around Illinois archaeology. Dr. Cooper received her
