Earth Science Club of Northern Illinois

Field Trips

2018 ESCONI Field Trips

Here is a list of field trip offered by ESCONI during 2018. We hope you participated in a few and found some nice treasures! Send us some pictures for posting to the website!
Read more: 2018 ESCONI Field Trips
Calendar of Events, ESCONI Gem, Mineral & Fossil Show

2019 ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show March 23th and March 24th – Preview #1, Pyrite

First preview of material for the live auction at the 2019 ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show. This one is a very nice chunk of Iron Pyrite.
Read more: 2019 ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show March 23th and March 24th – Preview #1, Pyrite
Calendar of Events

ESCONI General Meeting on April 12th, 2019 – “Geology of the Illinois Valley”

The speaker at our April meeting will be Mike Phillips, Geology Professor at Illinois Valley Community College in Oglesby, IL. The title of his program is “Geology of the Illinois Valley”.
Read more: ESCONI General Meeting on April 12th, 2019 – “Geology of the Illinois Valley”
Calendar of Events

Geodeland Gem, Mineral and Fossil Show March 9th-10th, 2019 at Western Illinois University

Geodeland Earth Science Clubs, Inc. (GESCI) will hold its 39th Annual Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show at Western Illinois University on March 9th and 10th, 2019. The show will be held from 10 AM to 6 PM Saturday and 10 AM to 5 PM on Sunday in the University Union Grand Ballroom. Parking and admission are free. The GESCI Show will include 11 dealers in minerals, fossils, jewelry and equipment. There will be displays of geodes, minerals, fossils and many other earth science objects. The displays will include items found in backyards in western Illinois, as well as those that…
Read more: Geodeland Gem, Mineral and Fossil Show March 9th-10th, 2019 at Western Illinois University
Calendar of Events

Reminder: Burpee PaleoFest 2019 – Friday, March 1st, 2019 through Sunday, March 3rd, 2019

The Burpee PaleoFest will be held from Friday, March 1st to Sunday, March 3rd, 2019. Don’t miss it! Quick Links:
Read more: Reminder: Burpee PaleoFest 2019 – Friday, March 1st, 2019 through Sunday, March 3rd, 2019
Calendar of Events, ESCONI Gem, Mineral & Fossil Show

ESCONI Events March 2019

Field trips require membership, but visitors are welcome at all meetings! Sat, Mar 23rd ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show, 10 AM – 5 PM, Dupage County Fairgrounds (Map) – See here for more details. Sun, Mar 24th ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show, 10 AM – 4 PM, Dupage County Fairgrounds (Map) – See here for more details.
Read more: ESCONI Events March 2019
Around the Web

DH: Wheaton College is selling rocks in April. For departing geology professor, it’s a test of time

The DailyHerald has a story about Wheaton College’s Annual Rock Sale held this year on April 6th, 2019. For retired geology professor Jeff Greenberg, it’s his “swan song” from academia. When you think of Wheaton College, here’s what probably doesn’t come to mind: the geology department’s rock and mineral collection. In the lower level of the Meyer Science Center — the building most associated with displaying “Perry,” the school’s enormous mastodon skeleton — geology professor Jeff Greenberg is the encyclopedic mind curating a surprising and huge assortment of geological specimens. Greenberg talks about rocks the way musicians talk about Hendrix…
Read more: DH: Wheaton College is selling rocks in April. For departing geology professor, it’s a test of time
Around the Web

Happy 100th Birthday – Grand Canyon National Park!

The Grand Canyon National Park is 100 years old today. There’s many posts out on the internet. Here are a few… NPR, CNN, Fortune, and Outside Magazine. On February 26, 2019, the Grand Canyon celebrates 100 years since it’s designation as a national park. A UNESCO World Heritage Site, Grand Canyon welcomes approximately six million domestic and international visitors each year. After 100 years, whether its hiking a corridor trail, taking a stroll on the rim or enjoying the landscape from an overlook, Grand Canyon continues to provide a space for all visitors to connect with the outdoors. This 2019,…
Read more: Happy 100th Birthday – Grand Canyon National Park!
Around the Web

AMNH: T. rex: The Ultimate Predator

The American Museum of Natural History in New York has a new exhibit opening on March 11th, 2019. It’s called “T. rex: The Ultimate Predator” and it runs through August 9th, 2020. How did T. rex evolve to become the most fearsome carnivore of the Mesozoic? T. rex: The Ultimate Predator will introduce you to the entire tyrannosaur superfamily and reveal the amazing story of the most iconic dinosaur in the world through stunning life-sized models, fossils and casts, engaging interactives, and an immersive multiplayer virtual reality experience developed exclusively for this exhibition. Warning: you may never think of T. rex the same way…
Read more: AMNH: T. rex: The Ultimate Predator
Around the Web

480-Million-Year-Old Mystery Creature Finally Identified from Its Preserved Guts

LiveScience has an interesting story about some bizarre creatures found in Morocco. The animals are called stylophorans and lived during the Ordovician. The fossils were discovered in 2014 in the Fezouata Formation. They are now identified as echinoderms and are related to modern animals such as sea urchins, starfish, brittle stars, and sea lilies. The original paper was published in the February 2019 issue of Geobios. For the past 150 years, scientists have hotly debated a mysterious creature that lived hundreds of millions of years ago, long before dinosaurs walked the Earth. And now, with the discovery of stunningly detailed…
Read more: 480-Million-Year-Old Mystery Creature Finally Identified from Its Preserved Guts
Calendar of Events, ESCONI Gem, Mineral & Fossil Show

Reminder: 2019 ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show March 23th and March 24th

Save the Date! Just one month until the ESCONI Show! Saturday, March 23rd – 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.Sunday, March 24th – 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Free admittance and parking! Exploreyour interests Shopfor jewelry, gems, fossils, minerals from world-class vendors List to Follow Soon, Stay tuned! Findunique and interesting books at the used book sale Learnfrom members of club demonstrating their hobbies and collections Bid and buygems, minerals and fossils at theSilent Auctionand Live Auctions(photos of some items will be posted on website a week before show) Enjoyamazing displays from theField Museum & Lizzadro Museum Winan amazing earth-science related…
Read more: Reminder: 2019 ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show March 23th and March 24th
Around the Web

Quicks & Quarks: Tiny tyrannosaur fossil helps scientists understand how T-rex grew so large

CBC’s Quirks & Quarks has a segment about a tiny tyrannosaur that helps shed light on how T-rex grew so large. The animal, Moros intrepodus, was found by Dr. Lindsay Zanno. She’s head of paleontology at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences and research professor at N.C. State University in Raleigh. You might remember when she was at the Field Museum. She spoke at an ESCONI general meeting about “Resurrecting Dinosaurs” back in 2009. The paper appeared in Nature’s Communication Biology. Scientists have discovered a fossil from oldest and tiniest Cretaceous tyrannosaur ever found in North America — one…
Read more: Quicks & Quarks: Tiny tyrannosaur fossil helps scientists understand how T-rex grew so large
Calendar of Events

Burpee PaleoFest 2019 – Friday, March 1st, 2019 through Sunday, March 3rd, 2019

The Burpee PaleoFest will be held from Friday, March 1st to Sunday, March 3rd, 2019. Don’t miss it! Quick Links:
Read more: Burpee PaleoFest 2019 – Friday, March 1st, 2019 through Sunday, March 3rd, 2019
Calendar of Events

Reminder: Warehouse Work Day – Saturday, February 23rd, 2019, 9:00 – 1:00ish

If you have some time, come join our work day at the warehouse on Saturday, February 23rd, 2019 from 9:00-1:00ish. The warehouse address is 900 Knell in Montgomery, IL. Please meet/enter in the back of the warehouse ONLY. You will see railroad tracks along the back of the warehouse. Drive all the way to the end in the back. For more information, contact Jim Fairchild at 1-630-497-9700 or e-mail at esconi@hotmail.com
Read more: Reminder: Warehouse Work Day – Saturday, February 23rd, 2019, 9:00 – 1:00ish
Around the Web

Happy Birthday, John Ostrom – The man who saved the dinosaurs!

For 30 years, Ostrom steadily and meticulously refuted critics of his theories. He is shown here in the Yale Peabody Museum, near a Deinonychus in mid-leap. Deinonychus in full sprint, as drawn by Robert Bakker ’67—a student of Ostrom’s and a crusader for the view that dinosaurs were active, dynamic animals. The drawing appeared in Ostrom’s 1969 paper announcing the discovery of Deinonychus. John Ostrom was born February 18th, 1928. He was the paleontologist that changed the way we look at dinosaurs. Before him, they were slow, dump, plodding animals that couldn’t help but go extinct. Many researchers in his day thought them scientifically…
Read more: Happy Birthday, John Ostrom – The man who saved the dinosaurs!
Around the Web

Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore is Now Indiana Dunes National Park!

Visit Indiana has a piece about the change in name for the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore to Indiana Dunes National Park! It was approved on February 15, 2019. The country’s 61st national park hugs 15 miles of the southern shore of Lake Michigan and has much to offer. Whether you enjoy scouting for rare species of birds or flying kites on the sandy beach, the national lakeshore’s 15,000 acres will continually enchant you. Hikers will enjoy 50 miles of trails over rugged dunes, mysterious wetlands, sunny prairies, meandering rivers and peaceful forests. Want to learn more about America’s newest national…
Read more: Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore is Now Indiana Dunes National Park!
Around the Web

Update: Fossil Park Proposal For Lone Star Quarry Near Oglesby, IL

Rep. Lance Yednock has proposed a bill to convert the former Lone Star Quarry into a Fossil Park. Synopsis As IntroducedAmends the Department of Natural Resources (Conservation) Law of the Civil Administrative Code of Illinois. Provides that the Department of Natural Resources shall designate a portion of the former Lone Star Quarry site near Oglesby as a fossil park to allow for the collection of fossils. Provides that Department by rule may designate which portion of the land shall constitute the fossil park and any requirements for admittance or permits for entry into the fossil park. Provides that the Department…
Read more: Update: Fossil Park Proposal For Lone Star Quarry Near Oglesby, IL
Calendar of Events, ESCONI Gem, Mineral & Fossil Show

2019 ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show March 23rd and March 24th

Saturday, March 23rd – 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.Sunday, March 24th – 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Free admittance and parking! Exploreyour interests Shopfor jewelry, gems, fossils, minerals from world-class vendors List to Follow Soon, Stay tuned! Findunique and interesting books at the used book sale Learnfrom members of club demonstrating their hobbies and collections Bid and buygems, minerals and fossils at theSilent Auctionand Live Auctions(photos of some items will be posted on website a week before show) Enjoyamazing displays from theField Museum & Lizzadro Museum Winan amazing earth-science related prize in the hourly raffle if your ticket chosen AND…
Read more: 2019 ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show March 23rd and March 24th
Calendar of Events

Reminder: ESCONI Paleontology Study Group Meeting, Saturday, February 16rd, 2019, 7:30 PM

The ESCONI Paleontology Study Group Meeting for February is on February 16th, 2019 at 7:30 PM. The topic is the movie “Dinosaur 13”, which is about the discovery of Sue the T-rex at the Field Museum. We might also review the Sue talk/discussion from January. Come on out and join us for some good discussion!
Read more: Reminder: ESCONI Paleontology Study Group Meeting, Saturday, February 16rd, 2019, 7:30 PM
Around the Web

Happy Darwin Day!

Today is Charles Darwin’s 210th birthday. The Darwin Day website has all the details. There are many events planned, have a look here.
Read more: Happy Darwin Day!

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

Most Recent Post