Contact: Robbie S. Ward
STARKVILLE, Miss.--The Dunn-Seiler Geology Museum at Mississippi State will feature a dinosaur egg collection Wednesday [Oct. 12] as part of the second annual National Fossil Day observance.
Called "Fossil Extravaganza," the free 5:30-7:30 p.m. university event also involves tours and children's activities by museum staff and faculty, students, and others in the sponsoring geosciences department.
Located in Hilbun Hall on the east side of campus, the museum is joining others throughout the nation as part of a larger recognition of Earth Science Week.
"National Fossil Day is a great way to learn about what was here before us," said museum director Renee Clary, an assistant professor of geology and geoscience education. "We're fortunate to be in Mississippi where a treasure trove of fossils lies right beneath our feet."
The Dunn-Seiler Museum regularly features mineral and rock collections, meteorites and fossil displays to help visitors understand Earth's 4.6 billion-year history. A Triceratops skull replica, a crocodile skull from the Cretaceous period and many fossils from Mississippi and the Southeast are among popular items.
This year's event also will include fossilized dinosaur eggs found in southeastern Montana by earth and atmospheric sciences doctoral student John Paul Jones. He will have available for viewing CT scan images of the eggs' interior.
"Since I was a little kid, I've had a fascination with dinosaurs," said Jones, who has visited every continent but Antarctica. "Some things you never grow out of."
While currently unable to identify precisely the types of eggs, they are believed to be from a group called Hadrosaur that often is called "the duck-billed dinosaurs," he explained.
Along with the department of geosciences, the "Fossil Extravaganza" is supported by Teachers for a Competitive Tomorrow, a multi-disciplinary grant program for undergraduate student workers.
For more information, contact Clary at rclary@geosci.msstate.edu or 662-268-1032, extension 215.