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PBS Eons: Does Our “Junk” DNA Make Us Human?
Read more: PBS Eons: Does Our “Junk” DNA Make Us Human?PBS Eons has a new episode on Youtube. This one is about us and what is it that makes us, us. In the search for the genes that make us human, some of the most important answers were hiding not in the genes themselves, but in what was once considered genomic junk.
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Fossil Friday #153: UK Neuropteris
Read more: Fossil Friday #153: UK NeuropterisThis is the “Fossil Friday” post #153. Expect this to be a somewhat regular feature of the website. We will post any fossil pictures you send in to esconi.info@gmail.com. Please include a short description or story. Check the #FossilFriday Twitter hash tag for contributions from around the world! —————————————————– Now for something completely… well slightly… different. This is a Neuropteris from the Cutacre Opencast in Manchester, England. It dates to about 320 million years ago. Very similar plants and animal fossils are known from the coal mines in the UK. Fossiliferous concretions are sometimes referred to as “pebbles” in the…
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Throwback Thursday #154: 1985 ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show
Read more: Throwback Thursday #154: 1985 ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil ShowThis is Throwback Thursday #154. In these, we look back into the past at ESCONI specifically and Earth Science in general. If you have any contributions, (science, pictures, stories, etc …), please send them to esconi.info@gmail.com. Thanks! This is probably the last show related post for a while. Let’s take a peek back at 1985. Don Brazda was ESCONI president. How many names do you recognize on the ESCONI Board of Directors? Oh, those phone number probably won’t work anymore… Announcement by Show Chairman Jim Daly. The show was held on March 2nd and 3rd, 1985 at the Glen Crest…
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PBS Eons: That Time the American West Blew Up
Read more: PBS Eons: That Time the American West Blew UpPBS Eons has a new video on Youtube. This one is about volcanism in North America during the Eocene Epoch some 50 million years ago. Why didn't these supervolcanoes produce extinction? How is it possible to have cataclysmic eruptions without any real cataclysm?
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2023 ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show – Final Report!
Read more: 2023 ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show – Final Report!Well, the show is over. From all accounts, attendees had a good time. Here’s a few more scenes from day 2 at the show. Burpee Museum display Lizzaddro Museum display Junior Tables Geodes Faces in the crowd Fluffy prehistoric creatures
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Mazon Monday #156: Charles Shabica and the Tully Monster
Read more: Mazon Monday #156: Charles Shabica and the Tully MonsterThis is Mazon Monday post #156. What’s your favorite Mazon Creek fossil? Tell us at email:esconi.info@gmail.com. Charles Shabica stopped by the ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show on Saturday. Just in case you don’t know who he is… Shabica edited the “Richardson’s Gulde to the Fossil Fauna of Mazon Creek”, which was published in 1997. He is author/co-author of many Mazon Creek scientific papers, including “Biota of a Pennsylvanian Muddy Coast: Habitats Within the Mazonian Delta Complex, Northeast Illinois” with Gordon Baird, which helped create a picture of the geography of Northern Illinois during the Pennsylvanian Period, about 307 million…
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2023 ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show – Day 1 is done… on to Day 2!
Read more: 2023 ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show – Day 1 is done… on to Day 2!Everyone had a great time at the show yesterday! Come on out… there’s one day left! The fun starts at 10 AM. Charles Shabica stopped by! It’s been a busy few days, Keith are you asleep? Random Photos from the day The book table Tony Bellos and Debra Lovely Auction Material for Sunday Displays
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2023 ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show – Show Setup!
Read more: 2023 ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show – Show Setup!We spent the day setting up the show. We have lots and lots of Live and Silent Auction material. There will be an ESCONI sale table for some larger bargains! There’s books, hats, t-shirts, patches, geodes, and a large junior area. We loaded the truck up. Heck, we brought everything except the kitchen sink! The vendors are working hard to get ready for you! Both the Field Museum and the Burpee Museum have displays. Here’s a sneak peek at some of the vendor materials. Come out to see it in all it’s glory! Books… And, last but certainly not least,…
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2023 ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show – Preview #25!
Read more: 2023 ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show – Preview #25!This is the preview post #25 for the 2023 ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show Live Auction. The ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show for 2023 will be held on March 18th and 19th at the DuPage Fairgrounds in Wheaton, IL, which is the same location as last year. All details can be found here. Yes, time for yet another preview for the 2023 ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show. Last one… come out tomorrow! It’s should be a fun time! This is a beautiful Aquamarine crystal from Erongo, Namibia. Pictures do not do it justice!
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2023 ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show – Preview #24!
Read more: 2023 ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show – Preview #24!This is the preview post #24 for the 2023 ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show Live Auction. The ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show for 2023 will be held on March 18th and 19th at the DuPage Fairgrounds in Wheaton, IL, which is the same location as last year. All details can be found here. Yes, time for yet another preview for the 2023 ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show. A dinosaur… who doesn’t love T-rex?!? This is very nice Tyrannosaurus rex dinosaur model.
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2023 ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show – Preview #23!
Read more: 2023 ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show – Preview #23!This is the preview post #23 for the 2023 ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show Live Auction. The ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show for 2023 will be held on March 18th and 19th at the DuPage Fairgrounds in Wheaton, IL, which is the same location as last year. All details can be found here. Yes, time for yet another preview for the 2023 ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show. Back to minerals… Amethyst. It is a very large chunk and has beautiful crystals!
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2023 ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show – Preview #22!
Read more: 2023 ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show – Preview #22!This is the preview post #22 for the 2023 ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show Live Auction. The ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show for 2023 will be held on March 18th and 19th at the DuPage Fairgrounds in Wheaton, IL, which is the same location as last year. All details can be found here. Yes, time for yet another preview for the 2023 ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show. Another Mazon Creek plant fossil! This is another Macroneuropteris scheuchzeri, a seed fern from Mazon Creek. It comes from the Wilbert Rath collection. He was an active ESCONI during the…
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2023 ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show – Preview #21!
Read more: 2023 ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show – Preview #21!This is the preview post #21 for the 2023 ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show Live Auction. The ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show for 2023 will be held on March 18th and 19th at the DuPage Fairgrounds in Wheaton, IL, which is the same location as last year. All details can be found here. Yes, time for yet another preview for the 2023 ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show. Time for some younger fossils… from the Green River Formation in Wyoming. These are gar fish scales. It’s a large plate and the scales have nice detail.
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2023 ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show – Preview #20!
Read more: 2023 ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show – Preview #20!This is the preview post #20 for the 2023 ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show Live Auction. The ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show for 2023 will be held on March 18th and 19th at the DuPage Fairgrounds in Wheaton, IL, which is the same location as last year. All details can be found here. Yes, time for yet another preview for the 2023 ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show. Another Mazon Creek seed fern for your enjoyment! This is Odontopteris aequalis, a seed fern from Mazon Creek. This was collected many years ago in a locality that no longer…
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2023 ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show – Preview #19!
Read more: 2023 ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show – Preview #19!This is the preview post #19 for the 2023 ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show Live Auction. The ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show for 2023 will be held on March 18th and 19th at the DuPage Fairgrounds in Wheaton, IL, which is the same location as last year. All details can be found here. Yes, time for yet another preview for the 2023 ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show. We are into the home stretch now! See you tomorrow! Here’s a beautiful green mineral for St. Patrick’s Day! This gorgeous specimen of Antlerite traveled all the way from Chuquicamata,…
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Fossil Friday #152: Dunbarella striata
Read more: Fossil Friday #152: Dunbarella striataThis is the “Fossil Friday” post #152. Expect this to be a somewhat regular feature of the website. We will post any fossil pictures you send in to esconi.info@gmail.com. Please include a short description or story. Check the #FossilFriday Twitter hash tag for contributions from around the world! —————————————————– We have an Mazon Creek Dunbarella striata from Pit 11 for today’s gem. This little beauty was found by ESCONI member Jake Fill in the last few weeks… the year seems to be off to an exciting start for Jake! We did a Mazon Monday post about scallops back in 2020. …
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2023 ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show – Preview #18!
Read more: 2023 ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show – Preview #18!This is the preview post #18 for the 2023 ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show Live Auction. The ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show for 2023 will be held on March 18th and 19th at the DuPage Fairgrounds in Wheaton, IL, which is the same location as last year. All details can be found here. Yes, time for yet another preview for the 2023 ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show. Last one for the day… more to come tomorrow! This is a beautiful 6.2 lb chunk of Flourite. There are multiple colors, yellow, blue, and purple. Come out this weekend…
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2023 ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show – Preview #17!
Read more: 2023 ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show – Preview #17!This is the preview post #17 for the 2023 ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show Live Auction. The ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show for 2023 will be held on March 18th and 19th at the DuPage Fairgrounds in Wheaton, IL, which is the same location as last year. All details can be found here. Yes, time for yet another preview for the 2023 ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show. Still going…. come back soon for more! Another German fossil… this time it’s a few brittlestars, Furcaster palaeozoicus, from the Hunsruck Shale in Bundenbach. These little guys lived during the…
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2023 ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show – Preview #16!
Read more: 2023 ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show – Preview #16!This is the preview post #16 for the 2023 ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show Live Auction. The ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show for 2023 will be held on March 18th and 19th at the DuPage Fairgrounds in Wheaton, IL, which is the same location as last year. All details can be found here. Yes, time for yet another preview for the 2023 ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show. It’s getting down to the end…. we’ll keep these previews going up for a while longer! This is an absolutely gorgeous Aeger sp. shrimp from the Solnhofen of Germany. These…
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Throwback Thursday #153: Flea Market 1999
Read more: Throwback Thursday #153: Flea Market 1999This is Throwback Thursday #152. In these, we look back into the past at ESCONI specifically and Earth Science in general. If you have any contributions, (science, pictures, stories, etc …), please send them to esconi.info@gmail.com. Thanks! Here are some scenes from the ESCONI Flea Market on October 2nd, 1999. This event was held at the College of DuPage in the Student Resource Center Room in Building K. Karl Everett was ESCONI President. Here is the announcement from the ESCONI newsletter in September 1999. I recognize some of the faces…. John Good, Dave Bergman, Sheila Bergman, Kathy Dedina, Karen Nordquist,…
ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show
Most Recent Post
- The Field Museum’s Dinopalooza 2026, Saturday, June 13th, 2026
The Field Museum’s annual paleontology extravaganza “Dinopalooza 2026” is today! Come on out and join the fun!
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Field trips require membership, but visitors are welcome at all meetings!
| Friday, June 12th | General Meeting – 8:00 PM via Zoom. Adrienne Stroup of The Field Museum will present “At the Intersection of Art and Science: Outreach in Natural History Museums”. |
| Saturday, June 20th | Paleontology Study Group – 7:30 PM via Zoom. Lincoln Shoemaker will present “Factors controlling the distribution of Late Ordovician – Silurian crinoids.” |
| No meeting this month | Junior Study Group Meeting |
| No meeting this month | Mineralogy Study Group |