Don "The Fossil Guy" Johnson returns to the University of Iowa Museum of Natural History in April with educational programs at 2 p.m. on Saturday afternoons. All "Fossil Guy" programs are free and open to the public and will be held in Macbride Hall auditorium.
Each program consists of a 30-minute talk by Johnson, a local amateur paleontologist, followed by a close-up, hands-on, question-and-answer session using his collection of fossils and artifacts. Presentations are geared toward elementary-age children.
The series and subjects are as follows:
April 7, “Dinosaur Evidence.” What can we learn about dinosaur diet from fossil claws, teeth, jaws and coprolites? What can we learn about dinosaur growth and parenting behavior from fossil eggs, nests, embryos and hatchlings? What do fossil footprints teach us about dinosaur herding and hunting behavior, as well as their speed of travel?
April 14, "The Leg Bone is Connected to the Hip Bone.” Why do vertebrate paleontologists study the skeletons of modern animals? Examine modern bones and compare them to fossil bones to get answers to these varied questions. Learn about your own bones using a replica human skeleton. As a special bonus, see and touch the massive thigh bone of the extinct Ice Age ground sloth, Eremotherium.
April 21, “Ancient Fliers.” How and why did many different kinds of animals that once walked the earth later take to the air as gliders and powered fliers? How are pterosaurs similar to bats, and how are they different? Travel back in time as you examine fossil replicas and models of pterosaurs, early bats, and feathered dinosaurs including Microraptor and Archaeopteryx.
For more information on the "Fossil Guy" and other Museum of Natural History programs, visit www.uiowa.edu/nathist/ or call 319-335-0606.