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Reminder: September General Meeting on Friday, September 8th, 2017 – “Calymene blumenbachii and the Discovery of Trilobites”
Read more: Reminder: September General Meeting on Friday, September 8th, 2017 – “Calymene blumenbachii and the Discovery of Trilobites”The speaker at our September 8, 2017 meeting will be Dr. Don Mikulic, Senior Paleontologist with the Illinois State Geological Survey. The title of his program is “Calymene blumenbachii and the Discovery of Trilobites”. The program is based on a chapter in “Fantastic Fossils – 300 years of worldwide research on trilobites”, New York State Museum Bulletin 507. This book is available for download on ResearchGate under the account of Ed Landing. Account on ReasearchGate are free.
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Heavily armoured dinosaur had ginger camouflage to deter predators – study
Read more: Heavily armoured dinosaur had ginger camouflage to deter predators – studyThe Guardian has a story about a recent paper that studied coloring in the best-preserved armoured dinosaur ever discovered. The specimen of Ankylosaur named Borealopelta markmitchelli, was discovered back in 2011 at the Suncor Millennium Mine in Canada. The discovery was a surprise as the site had previously only revealed fossils of ancient marine reptiles. The animal was about 18 feet long and lived about 110 million years ago. It was unveiled back in May 2017 and is currently on display at the Royal Tyrrell Museum of Paleontology in Alberta, Canada. This study looked at the preserved “skin” and determined…
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Move over, Sue: World’s largest dinosaur taking center stage at Field Museum
Read more: Move over, Sue: World’s largest dinosaur taking center stage at Field MuseumThe Chicagoist has a great story about changes at the Field Museum. Sue is moving to her own space up inside Evolving Planet, and a new cast of the largest dinosaur every discovered will be installed in Stanley Field Hall. The new dinosaur, Patagotitan mayorum, a titanosaur from South America, will be installed in the Spring of 2018. Some literally massive changes are afoot at the Field Museum, as the beloved SUE the T. Rex will be moving from its famous entryway mount to a new gallery, making way for a touchable cast of a mammoth titanosaur—the world’s largest, in…
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ESCONI Field Trip Sept 24 2017 to the Cunningham Quarry in Rockford
Read more: ESCONI Field Trip Sept 24 2017 to the Cunningham Quarry in RockfordThere will be a field trip to the Cunningham Quarry in Rockford, Illinois on Sunday, Sept 24 2017, from 9AM to 12 Noon. The rock is Ordovician, Galena Group. This is a “hard-rock” quarry (dolomite). There is a pile of shot rock (large uncrushed stone after a blast) in the middle where there is plenty of access to it. Rules: 1. Everyone in your group MUST be an ESCONI member as of Sept 17, 2017. 2. Everyone in your group MUST be at least 18 years of age. 3. Everyone MUST have and wear a…
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LOESS Gem Show Oct. 7-8, 2017
Read more: LOESS Gem Show Oct. 7-8, 2017Mark your calendars! October 7 and 8 – the LOESS Mineral, Fossil and Gem Show! POSTERS: We will be having the posters printed up this week or next – once I confirm with a few sponsors, but I am also emailing it to everyone now, even without the sponsors. You can send it on to friends, print to post at work, school, favorite stores. Be creative – help spread the word! This year's show is going to be better than ever. In addition to the fantastic collection from the Illinois State Museum, we are making arrangements to have a…
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ESCONI Events September 2017
Read more: ESCONI Events September 2017Field trips require membership, but visitors are welcome at all meetings! Fri, Sept 8th ESCONI General Meeting, 8:00 PM College of Dupage – Tech Ed (TEC) Building, Room 1038B (Map) – Topic: “Calymene blumenbachii and the Discovery of Trilobites” by Dr. Don Mikulic, Senior Paleontologist with the Illinois State Geological Survey Sat, Sept 9th and Sun Sept 10th Field Trip – Braceville – see here for details. Sat, Sept 9th ESCONI Minerology Study Group Meeting, 7:30 PM College of Dupage – Tech Ed (TEC) Building, Room 1038B (Map) – Topic: “Show and Tell” Sat, Sept 16th Field Trip – Vulcan…
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September General Meeting Topic: “Calymene blumenbachii and the Discovery of Trilobites”
Read more: September General Meeting Topic: “Calymene blumenbachii and the Discovery of Trilobites”The speaker at our September 8, 2017 meeting will be Dr. Don Mikulic, Senior Paleontologist with the Illinois State Geological Survey. The title of his program is “Calymene blumenbachii and the Discovery of Trilobites”. The program is based on a chapter in “Fantastic Fossils – 300 years of worldwide research on trilobites”, New York State Museum Bulletin 507. This book is available for download on ResearchGate under the account of Ed Landing. Account on ReasearchGate are free.
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Membership Is Now Available Via PayPal!
Read more: Membership Is Now Available Via PayPal!Membership is open to all people interested in the earth sciences. Family membership is $20.00 for one year or $50.00 for three years. Membership runs from January through December, applies to immediate family in the same household, and includes an emailed digital Newsletter. Dues are payable either at the monthly meetings, or by mailing a check (payable to ESCONI) to the Membership Chair (Rose Jansen), or by credit card via PayPal at www.esconi.org. Members will be notified when dues are due again. Please note that new (first time) memberships paid on or after September 1st will include September – December, and the following…
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Field Trip: Vulcan Kankakee Quarry on Saturday Sept 16, 2017 from 8:30 AM to noon
Read more: Field Trip: Vulcan Kankakee Quarry on Saturday Sept 16, 2017 from 8:30 AM to noonThere will be an ESCONI Field Trip to the Vulcan Kankakee Quarry on Saturday Sept 16, 2017 from 8:30 AM to noon. The quarry is located at 1277 County Highway 28.The rules are shown below: 1. You must be an ESCONI member as of September 9th and at least 18 years old to attend this trip. 2. Maximum attendance is 30. 3. Follow any directions given by quarry management on parking. 4. We will have site-specific training, and everyone will sign waivers. I will distribute the waiver forms by email a few days before the trip.…
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Time: See How the Solar Eclipse Will Look From Anywhere in the U.S.
Read more: Time: See How the Solar Eclipse Will Look From Anywhere in the U.S.Time has a story that does a simulation of the upcoming Solar Eclipse on August 21st. Just enter your zip code and enjoy!
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CBC Quirks & Quarks – This armoured and spiky dinosaur still had to hide from predators
Read more: CBC Quirks & Quarks – This armoured and spiky dinosaur still had to hide from predatorsCBC Radio’s Quirks & Quarks Show has a segment about an amazing fossil dinosaur specimen. It’s one of the best preserved dinosaur fossils ever found and was discovered in Alberta, Canada. The animal is a nodosaur that lived about 110 million years ago during the Cretaceous Period. The detail is such that researchers can determine what type of camouflage it employed. Research Paper in Current Biology. It weighed a tonne and a half, was five meters long, was covered in thick, bony armour and spikes, and still it had to hide from the terrifying predators of its time. A new…
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Field Trip: September 9-10, 2017 Braceville – Mazon Creek Fossils
Read more: Field Trip: September 9-10, 2017 Braceville – Mazon Creek FossilsCollecting Mazon Creek Fossils on private property. Meet at 8:00 A.M. Saturday or Sunday at the BP Amoco in Coal City. No Age Limit. Hard Hats not required. Take I-55 to Exit 236 (Coal City). Take a right onto Highway 113 (Division Street). Go west to Broadway Street and Division in Coal City. We will be collecting Mazon Creek concretions from an old spoil pile on private property. Hard hats are not required. Boots are recommended. An Estwing rock hammer is the best tool. A small shovel or pick is helpful. Gardening tools such as a hand rake work also.…
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Canceled: Professor Reed Scherer to speak at Elgin Library Wed Aug 9
Read more: Canceled: Professor Reed Scherer to speak at Elgin Library Wed Aug 9This event was canceled! Dr. Reed Scherer, Geology Professor at NIU, will speak at the main Elgin library starting at 7 PM on Wednesday, August 9, 2017. He will discuss the patterns of evolution as seen in the fossil record, but using cars as an analogy to illustrate evolutionary principles. Registration is suggested. See https://www.gailborden.info/
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Paul Sereno At the Gail Borden Public Library in downtown Elgin – July 26th, 2017
Read more: Paul Sereno At the Gail Borden Public Library in downtown Elgin – July 26th, 2017Paul Sereno will be speaking at the Gail Borden Public Library in downtown Elgin on the evening of Wednesday, July 26, 2017. Full information can be found here: https://www.gailborden.info/library-info/2402-amazing-dinosaurs-with-paul-sereno
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Six Points of Perspective on Larsen C’s Huge New Iceberg
Read more: Six Points of Perspective on Larsen C’s Huge New IcebergEos has an article about the Delaware-sized slab of ice that just broke off of Antarctica. It weighs about 1 trillion metric tons. By the way, that’s a 1 followed by 12 0’s… 1,000,000,000,000. The 5800 square kilometer chunk is drifting free in the Weddell Sea. But now a 5800-square-kilometer section is free, drifting in the Weddell Sea. “We have been anticipating this event for months and have been surprised how long it took for the rift to break through the final few kilometers of ice,” wrote Adrian Luckman, a glaciologist at Swansea University in the United Kingdom, on a…
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Field Trip: Irene Quarry near Belvidere, Illinois on Sunday, July 16 2017
Read more: Field Trip: Irene Quarry near Belvidere, Illinois on Sunday, July 16 2017There will be a field trip to the Irene Quarry near Belvidere, Illinois on Sunday, July 16 2017, from 9AM to 12 Noon. The rock is Ordovician, Galena Group. This is a “hard-rock” quarry (dolomite). If you like Hormotoma or Receptaculites, this is the place for you! Rules: 1. Everyone in your group MUST be an ESCONI member as of July 9, 2017. 2. Everyone in your group MUST be at least 18 years of age. 3. Everyone MUST have and wear a hard hat, safety vest, and sturdy boots while in the quarry. No…
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Reminder: Field Trip: State Street Quarry in Rockford, June 25th 2017
Read more: Reminder: Field Trip: State Street Quarry in Rockford, June 25th 2017There will be a field trip for ESCONI members on June 25, 2017 to the State Street Quarry in Rockford. The trip starts at 9 AM and ends at 12 noon. Rules are as follows: 1. Everyone in your party must be an ESCONI member by June 18, 2017. 2. Everyone in your party must be at least 18 years of age. 3. Because this is a combined trip, there are only 20 open slots for ESCONI members. 4. The address of the quarry is 8966 East State Street, Rockford, IL. 5. We will have…
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ESCONI Events June 2017
Read more: ESCONI Events June 2017Field trips require membership, but visitors are welcome at all meetings! Fri, June 9th ESCONI General Meeting, 8:00 PM College of Dupage – Tech Ed (TEC) Building, Room 1038B (Map) – Topic: “Coal Swamps, Coral Reefs, and Continental Glaciers: A Look at Prairie-State Geology” by Ray Wiggers Sat, June 25th Field Trip – State Street Quarry in Rockford, IL – see here for details. ESCONI Minerology Study Group Meeting – No meeting, see you in September! ESCONI Paleontology Study Group Meeting – No meeting, see you in September! ESCONI Archaeology Study Group Meeting – Open at this…
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ESCONI General Meeting June 9th, 2017: “Coal Swamps, Coral Reefs, and Continental Glaciers: A Look at Prairie-State Geology”, by Ray Wiggers
Read more: ESCONI General Meeting June 9th, 2017: “Coal Swamps, Coral Reefs, and Continental Glaciers: A Look at Prairie-State Geology”, by Ray WiggersThe program at the June 9, 2017 ESCONI General Meeting is titled “Coal Swamps, Coral Reefs,and Continental Glaciers: A Look at Prairie-State Geology”, by Ray Wiggers. Ray is the author of five books including “Geology Underfoot in Illinois”. His resume includes jobs at the Illinois EPA, Vermont Public Radio, Illinois State Museum and National Park Service. You can find out more information about Ray and the other programs he has scheduled at http://naturalhistoryman.org/ .
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Field Trip: State Street Quarry in Rockford, June 25th 2017
Read more: Field Trip: State Street Quarry in Rockford, June 25th 2017There will be a field trip for ESCONI members on June 25, 2017 to the State Street Quarry in Rockford. The trip starts at 9 AM and ends at 12 noon. Rules are as follows: 1. Everyone in your party must be an ESCONI member by June 18, 2017. 2. Everyone in your party must be at least 18 years of age. 3. Because this is a combined trip, there are only 20 open slots for ESCONI members. 4. The address of the quarry is 8966 East State Street, Rockford, IL. 5. We will have…
ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show
Most Recent Post
- Ancient bees found nesting inside fossil bones in rare cave discovery
Science Daily has a post about a recent paper that looked at novel bee nesting behavior. Researchers working on the Caribbean island of Hispaniola discovered a rare and unusual fossil interaction in a cave, ancient bees used fossilized bones as nesting sites.
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Field trips require membership, but visitors are welcome at all meetings!
| 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 |