Earth Science Club of Northern Illinois (ESCONI)

ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show

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esconi.info@gmail.com

Field trips require membership, but visitors are welcome at all meetings!

Friday, May 2ndField Trip to Danville, IL.

Details here.
Friday, May 8thGeneral Meeting – 8:00 PM via Zoom.

Thomas Loebel will present “Seeing Beneath the Ground: Geophysics and Archaeological
Explorations in Illinois”.
Saturday, May 9thJunior Study Group Meeting – 2:00 PM, in person at the College of DuPage Technical Education Center (TEC) Building – Room 1038A (Map).

“The Rock Cycle and Sedimentation”

Specifics of this meeting are available from Scott Galloway, 630-670-2591,  gallowayscottf@gmail.com.
Saturday, May 16thPaleontology Study Group – 7:30 PM via Zoom.

John Catalani will present “An Ordovician Konzentrat Lagerstätte: The Dixon Mifflin
Residuum Fauna”.
Saturday, May 23rdCGMA Show, Kane County Fairgrounds
Sunday, May 24thCGMA Show, Kane County Fairgrounds
Saturday, May 30thField Trip to Braceville, IL.

Details here.
Sunday, May 31stField Trip to Braceville, IL.

Details here.
No meeting this monthMineralogy Study Group

  • Archaeology Study Group Auction Deferred

    Eric wrote in to remind everyone that the the archaeological study group auction will be deferred to a later date please stay tuned for further updates.

    Read more: Archaeology Study Group Auction Deferred

  • Events this Friday and Saturday

    Friday: Jan. 10 – ESCONI General Meeting 8:00 p.m. College of Dupage,  – Tech Ed (TEC) Building, Room 1038B (Map) Topic: “Paleosculpture:Traditional & Digital Recent Advances in Paleoart” University of Chicago’s award winning paleoartist Tyler Keillor will discuss his techniques for creating some recent prehistoric life-reconstructions that have been in the news, including the traditionally sculpted bust of Heterodontosaurus tucki, and the digitally sculpted full body of a recently published baby Parasaurolophus. The talk will be illustrated with slides showing Tyler’s process and finished results, and some examples of his sculptures will be on hand for a closeup look after the talk.   Saturday,…

    Read more: Events this Friday and Saturday
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    Mazon Creek in the News

    From Chicago Tribune: … Before the time of the dinosaurs, long-nosed Bandringa sharks were leaving their freshwater homes to lay eggs in the shallow coastal waters of a long-gone sea that stretched over most of the American Midwest, according to a new paper published in the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology…. … In 1969, researchers discovered beautifully preserved fossils of baby Bandringa sharks, as well as their spiral egg casings, along Mazon Creek in northeastern Illinois. The juvenile sharks, just 4 to 6 inches long, had pronounced spoon-billed snouts that stretched half as long as their bodies. At the time, scientists…

    Read more: Mazon Creek in the News

  • Burpee Museum News – Please Read

    Letter sent out by Burpee Museum:   Burpee Museum of Natural History is still dealing with the aftermath of the late December Christmas flood. Sometime between December 23 and December 26 Burpee Museum of Natural History suffered a flood on it’s first floor which leaked into the lower level in the Museum’s biology and paleontology collections.   As a result, a number of our collections were damaged, some very badly, and greatly affected by the water. Over 700 gallons of standing water was removed from the first floor and many more repairs are to follow. Over 200 irreplaceable items from the Museum’s collections were damaged…

    Read more: Burpee Museum News – Please Read

  • Membership Dues Are Due

    Please send your check payable to ESCONI for $20.00 for one year of $50 for three years to Eileen Mizerk, ESCONI Membership, 2094 Windward Lane, Hanover Park, IL 60133-6183.

    Read more: Membership Dues Are Due
  • ESCONI Events: January, 2014

    ESCONI Events: January, 2014

    Sat 1/18 ESCONI Paleontology Meeting 7:30 p.m. College of Dupage, – Tech Ed  (TEC) Building, Room 1038B (Map) – Topic: Blastoids Fri 1/24 ESCONI Board Meeting. 7:30 p.m. College of Dupage, Tech Ed Build. TEC 1038B (Map)  Sat 1/25 Archaeology Study Group Meeting. 7:30 p.m. College of Dupage, – Tech Ed Building (TEC), Room 1038B (Map) Topic: Lexi Kiamco will present – United Kingdom History and Archaeology The United Kingdom has a very interesting history, full of Romans, Welsh, Scots, English, Irish, and their fair share of Norwegians. Starting at the Roman Empire’s invasion in 55 BC by Julius Caesar, and ending with the Norwegian invasion in…

    Read more: ESCONI Events: January, 2014

  • Lapidary Equipment for Sale – Pickup by Dec 30th

    Posting this as an information service. ESCONI has no knowledge of the equipment or the person selling the equipment. The person’s grandfather passed away and they are closing the house in Chicago by December 30thl, which is the last day to pickup. The owners of the equipment hoped it could go to someone who could use: (as described in their email to ESCONI) – “3 barrel rock tumbler which I believe is 12-15 pound capacity. There is a Highland Park Leather disc polisher model B26, and 2 other grinders polishers, attached to a table all with motors.  The other small…

    Read more: Lapidary Equipment for Sale – Pickup by Dec 30th

  • An Edmontosaur with a fleshy comb on its head

    From National Geographic via ESCONI Yahoo Discussion Group: A specimen of Edmontosaurus regalis with soft tissue preserved is described.  

    Read more: An Edmontosaur with a fleshy comb on its head

  • Field Museum Photo Gallery

    Via a post from Donald Baumgartner on the ESCONI Facebook page  – The Chicago Field Museum has a number of specimen photo galleries that you can explore from your own home. Talk about a back-seat, arm-chair fossil collector! Check it out at : http://fieldmuseum.org/explore/our-collections

    Read more: Field Museum Photo Gallery

  • Scottish Jewelry

    Lizzadro Museum of Lapidary Art: Special Exhibit – Scottish Jewelry Features over 20 pieces from the Lizzadro Collection including antique crest and kilt pins, brooches and bracelets.  This unique lapidary art form was popularized by Queen Victoria in the 19th century.  The jewelry emphasizes Scottish symbolism and gemstones in handmade silver work. This Exhibit Ends January 26, 2014

    Read more: Scottish Jewelry

  • Time to Renew ESCONI Membership Dues

    Please send your check payable to ESCONI for $20.00 for one year of $50 for three years to Eileen Mizerk, ESCONI Membership, 2094 Windward Lane, Hanover Park, IL 60133-6183.

    Read more: Time to Renew ESCONI Membership Dues

  • Geological Field Guide to Will County

    Via an ESCONI board member, Bill Vinikour: A  Download Guide to the Geology of Will County to the area south of Chicago that includes the Braidwood site.

    Read more: Geological Field Guide to Will County
  • Letter from Member
    ,

    Letter from Member

    December 12, 2013 ESCONI old-timers may remember Allan Mitchell of Iowa City, Iowa, who died on November 22, 2013 at the age of 101.  He sold and/or donated large amounts of interesting micro material to the micromount group on several occasions in the 1980s and was a familiar name to that group at that time.  After retiring from a long career as a chemical engineer with Shell, first in California and then New York, Allan retired to Gatlinburg, Tennessee, where he operated Microminerals International.  He subsequently moved to be near family in Iowa City.  In 1994 he felt he had…

    Read more: Letter from Member
  • Calendar of Events 2014

    Calendar of Events 2014

    (Dates subject to change)    January 2014     Fri 1/10 ESCONI General Meeting 8:00 p.m. College of Dupage,  – Tech Ed (TEC) Building, Room 1038B (Map) Topic: “Paleosculpture:Traditional & Digital Recent Advances in Paleoart” University of Chicago’s award winning paleoartist Tyler Keillor will discuss his techniques for creating some recent prehistoric life-reconstructions that have been in the news, including the traditionally sculpted bust of Heterodontosaurus tucki, and the digitally sculpted full body of a recently published baby Parasaurolophus. The talk will be illustrated with slides showing Tyler’s process and finished results, and some examples of his sculptures will be on hand for a…

    Read more: Calendar of Events 2014
  • ESCONI Events December 2013

    ESCONI Events December 2013

    Fri 12/6 ESCONI General Meeting, Board Meeting & Holiday Party 5:30 to 7:30 dinner, 8:00 p.m. lecture College of Dupage,  – Tech Ed (TEC) Building, Room 1038B (Map) Topic: The Discovery of a Marine Apex Predator from the Triassic by Jim Holstein,Robert A. Pritzker Center for Meteoritics and Polar Studies, The Field Museum. Come learn about the discovery and research of Thalattoarchon saurophagis with Jim Holstein from the Field Museum.  He will discuss the 1998 Field Museum expedition to Nevada where this ‘T-rex” of the sea was discovered as well as what scientists learned from this fossil.  ESCONI ANNUAL HOLIDAY PARTY  It is…

    Read more: ESCONI Events December 2013

  • Baby Dinosaur Found in Canada

    From Yahoo News via a member on the ESCONI Facebook page …The team was bone-hunting in Dinosaur Provincial Park in Alberta when Currie came upon what looked like a turtle shell sticking out from a hillside. Upon closer inspection, the fossil turned out to be a frill, the bony decorative headgear that surrounds the back of the head in ceratopsids. When the team excavated, they found the fossilized skeleton of a tiny dinosaur they identified as a Chasmosaurus belli, a species commonly found in the area. Drowning victim Amazingly, almost the entire skeleton was intact, although sometime in the past,…

    Read more: Baby Dinosaur Found in Canada

  • Hope to See You This Saturday – Work on Collections

    Work Day at the warehouse at 9:00 am this Saturday, November 30 at the collections storage facility in Montgomery, IL. Activities will include identifying mineral and fossil samples. If you can volunteer, please call John Good at 630-303-2352 for directions. Note new phone number to call for directions …. 630-303-2352

    Read more: Hope to See You This Saturday – Work on Collections

  • ESCONI Show 2013

    Dupage County Fairgrounds Wheaton, IL Home Economics Buildingclick for directions View Larger Map   Saturday, March 15 – 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday, March 16 – 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.   Free admittance and parking !  Exploreyour interests Shop for jewelry, gems, fossils, minerals from world-class vendors Mineral MinerOld Theatre Antique MallRock StarsRib RiverExclusive InspirationHell Creek DinosaursAgate and WoodLavins Gems and JewelrySouthwest Treasures Find unique and interesting books at the used book sale Learn from members of club demonstrating their hobbies and collections Bid and buy gems, minerals and fossils at the Silent Auction and Live Auctions(photos of…

    Read more: ESCONI Show 2013

  • 3D Print Smithsonian Pieces

    Via Read/Write:  Today, 3D design software company Autodesk revealed an advance in technology that will let us get up close to our culture’s our rarest relics. With the Smithsonian X 3D Explorer, anyone with an Internet connection can examine, manipulate, and even print exact 3D models of a few of the Smithsonian’s most precious items. 

    Read more: 3D Print Smithsonian Pieces

  • Paleontology Study Group This Saturday – 11/16

    ESCONI Paleontology Meeting 7:30 p.m. College of Dupage, – Tech Ed Building (TEC), Room 1038B (Map) Silurian Cephalopods by John Catalani. A silent auction with fossils from the Dick Ade Collection will be held.

    Read more: Paleontology Study Group This Saturday – 11/16