NEWS FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA STATE MUSEUM

theMammoth MAY 2011 ART& ANIMALS IN THIS ISSUE Sunday with Celebrated at Morrill Hall April 2 a Scientist

The 3rd annual Colorful Creature Day was held April 2 at Morrill Hall. Over 1,100 visitors of all ages came out for this fun-filled afternoon of live animals and hands-on art activities in the Museum. Read more about this event on page 12! Museum Memories ...... 6-8 A Walk Through Time ...... 9-11 Colorful Creature Day ...... 12 Agate Fossil Beds: New Fossil Find Marks 30 Years of Discovery...... 14-15

Sunday with a Scientist ...... 16-17

Trailside Turns 50! ...... 18 & MORE The Mammoth is available in color online!

friendsofthemuseum.org MORRILL FRIENDS UNIVERSITY OF BOARD OF DIRECTORS NEBRASKA HALL Mark A. Brohman, President STATE MUSEUM STAFF CALENDAR Lois Mayo, Vice President EX-OFFICIO AT A GLANCE David Rowe, Treasurer Priscilla C. Grew Director: Priscilla C. Grew Diane Pratt, Secretary Mike Madcharo Associate Director: Mark Harris Karen Amen Marcia Hollestelle ADVISORY COUNCIL Informal Science Education: Judy Diamond, Curator June 19 Michael Leite Judy Diamond Amy Spiegel Keely Rennie-Tucker Connie Pejsar 1:30-4:30 p.m. Lynn Sobotka Norm Smith Sunday with a Scientist Education Coordinator: Kathy French Diann Sorensen Mike Zeleny Museum Associates: Ann Cusick “Tissue Mechanics: Mark Sorensen Cindy Loope Engineering Better Heart Mel Thornton ASHFALL CHAPTER Annie Mumgaard Health” Natasha Vavra Mark Brogie, Ina Van der Veen Art Zygielbaum President July 17 Research Partnerships Coordinator: Brett Ratcliffe 1:30-4:30 p.m. Sunday with a Scientist Anthropology: Alan Osborn, Curator CONTACT INFORMATION NAGPRA/Collections Assistant: Susan Curtis “Fish” Director’s Office (402) 472-3779 Nebraska Archaeological Survey: Alan Osborn August 21 Museum Information Line (402) 472-2642 School Program Reservations (402) 472-6302 Botany: Robert Kaul, Curator 1:30-4:30 p.m. Friends Office (402) 472-3779 Collection Manager: Thomas Labedz Sunday with a Scientist Mueller Planetarium (402) 472-2641 Collections Assistant: Linda Rader “Climate Change” Nebraska Hall Office (402) 472-2643 Ashfall Fossil Beds (402) 893-2000 Entomology: Brett Ratcliffe, Curator September 18 Trailside Museum (308) 665-2929 Collection Manager: M.J. Paulsen

1:30-4:30 p.m. Geology: R.M. (Matt) Joeckel, Curator Sunday with a Scientist Museum Geological Specialist: Karl Baumgarten “Plants” www.museum.unl.edu Parasitology: Scott Gardner, Curator September 30 Collection Manager: Gabor Racz 5-7:30 p.m. Grand Opening: CONNECT WITH US! Vertebrate Paleontology: Ross Secord, Curator “First Peoples of the Plains: Collection Manager: R. George Corner Preparators: Gregory Brown Traditions Shaped by the Robert Skolnick Land and Sky” MORRILL HALL Ellen Stepleton (Current Friends will receive Highway Salvage Paleontologist: Shane Tucker invitations by mail.) South of 14th and Vine Streets (402) 472-2642 Highway Salvage Preparator: Nicholas Famoso University of Nebraska October 16 Lincoln, Nebraska Zoology: Patricia Freeman, Curator Collection Manager: Thomas Labedz 1:30-4:30 p.m. Open Year Around Sunday with a Scientist Monday-Saturday: 9:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. Affiliated Courtesy, Adjunct, and Emeritus Faculty: “Fossils” Thursdays: 9:30 a.m. - 8 p.m. (Open Late!) Anthropology: Thomas Myers Sundays: 1:30 p.m. - 4:30 p.m. Entomology: Mary Liz Jameson October 26-27 Closed Easter, Independence Day, Thanksgiving, Geology: Robert Diffendal, Samuel Treves 5--9 p.m. December 24-25, and January 1 Invertebrate Paleontology: David Watkins “Fright at the Museum” Planetarium Closed Mondays & Husker home football Parasitology: John Janovy, Mary Lou Pritchard A spook-tacular Halloween game Saturdays Vertebrate Paleontology: Michael Voorhies, event for families at Robert Hunt, Jr. Morrill Hall! ASHFALL FOSSIL BEDS Zoology: Hugh Genoways, Paul Johnsgard 86930 517 Avenue (402) 893-2000 Ashfall Fossil Beds Superintendent: Rick Otto museum.unl.edu Royal, NE 68773 Museum Specialist: Sandy Mosel for more event details! Located seven miles north of Highway 20 between Royal and Orchard, Nebraska. Trailside Museum Staff Assistants: Susan Veskerna Pattie Norman Open Seasonally. Accounting Clerk: Judy Ray For schedule, visit ashfall.unl.edu Discovery Shop Manager: Marisa Kardell Exhibit Design Specialist: Ron Pike Graphics Design Specialist: Joel Nielsen TRAILSIDE MUSEUM Mueller Planetarium Supervisor: Jack Dunn PO Box 462 (308) 665-2929 Public Relations Coordinator, Friends Liaison, Crawford, NE 69339 & Mammoth Newsletter Editor: Dana Ludvik Located on Highway 20 at Fort Robinson, Nebraska. Public Service Associate: Linda Beran Research Collections Staff Secretary: Gail Littrell Open Seasonally. Scientific Illustrator: Angie Fox For schedule, visit trailside.unl.edu 2 T H E M A M M O T H Friends of the University of Nebraska State Museum FROM THE DIRECTOR

in Japan. The doll has been in the Museum for more than 80 years as a gift from children of Japan in 1927. As the direct result of cooperative activities in exhibiting the doll, Mie University signed an agreement with UNL in December 2010 to promote academic collaboration between the two institutions. In spite of the tragic and overwhelming events in Japan that accompanied the March 11, 2011 giant earthquake and tsunami which disrupted plans for their initial visit, our friends from Mie Prefecture were able to reschedule their trip to the first week of May. Our eight visitors included both Mie University officials and representatives of Kawai Elementary School who came to present a replica doll, “Senka,” to Prescott Elementary School in Lincoln. We attended a wonderful assembly at Prescott at which all the school’s students participated in singing songs for our Mie guests. It is amazing to see how far the influence of “Miss Mie” has extended, and "Barney" gives Priscilla Grew a Colorful Creature kiss. (Photo by Cody Steward) it is an honor for the Museum to have served as the catalyst for UNL’s new cooperative academic program with Mie University. It’s never boring being Director of the University of Finally, one more first-time experience for me – on April Nebraska State Museum of Natural History. There’s always 5, I shipped red water bottles and T-shirts with the Museum’s a chance for a first-of-a-lifetime experience. Thanks to Peggy logo to Canada for “product placement” in a Smithsonian Steward, her son Cody, and the Star City Llama and Alpaca video being shot in Venezuela. Jason Head, our new Curator 4-H Club, on April 2nd I received my very first kiss from a of Vertebrate Paleontology will come to UNL in July from the llama, right in front of the Morrill Hall steps. “Barney” was University of Toronto-Mississauga. Jason studies giant fossil much friendlier than I had expected, but then I had never snakes, a first for us! Jason was leaving for Venezuela where he actually met a llama before. My chance came on Colorful was to be filmed “measuring anacondas” (!), and we wanted Creature Day, the subject of the cover story of this issue. I to be sure that the world will know where he’s from when he hope you also had a chance to meet and greet some of our appears on TV later this year— wearing a red Museum T-shirt furry, feathery, wiggly, and scaly friends that day! and Nebraska cap. We will have a profile article on Jason in a I hope you, too, have been experiencing some “firsts” forthcoming issue of the Mammoth. during this 140th anniversary year for the State Museum. Jason is joining our team of Curators who do extensive Maybe you’ve had a happy “high five” from “Archie,” the international research. It was another great honor for Museum’s first mascot – who participated in the finish-line the Museum when Brett Ratcliffe, Museum Curator of festivities for the Lincoln Marathon on May 1. Perhaps a Entomology and Research Partnerships Coordinator, youngster in your family recorded a weather broadcast under was recognized as the 2011 Phi Beta Delta UNL Faculty the lights in our first ever “green screen” technology studio International Scholar of the Year. operated by Earth and Atmospheric Sciences faculty members during Dinosaurs and Disasters Day on February 5. Maybe — Priscilla C. Grew, Director you happened to notice the fossil of the American Lion from the Pleistocene (Ice Ages) on display for the first time in the special exhibit, “Life in the Past Lane,” highlighting our cooperative Highway Salvage Paleontology program with the Nebraska Department of Roads. Had you known that lions larger than today’s African lions once roamed the Nebraska plains? Or perhaps a Museum visit was the first time you ever got the feeling that frogs have personalities – as shown by the amazing facial expressions captured by National Geographic photographer Joel Sartore in his exhibit “Amphibians: Vibrant and Vanishing.” The Museum has accomplished another “first” – the first time to our knowledge that an object in the Museum’s collections has stimulated the negotiation and signing of a cooperative agreement between the University of Nebraska and a university overseas. This special development grew out of our celebration in July 2010 of the homecoming of our Japanese Friendship Doll, “Miss Mie”, after her conservation Jason Head, the Museum’s new Curator of Vertebrate Paleontology May 2011 3 FROM THE PRESIDENT

GREETINGS FRIENDS MEMBERS!

School will be getting out soon, and a family trip to Morrill Hall may be just the thing to get the summer off on the right foot. Morrill Hall is open late on Thursday nights from 4:30 – 8:00 p.m. The Sundays with a Scientist continue to be very popular and are held from 1:30 – 4:00 p.m. at Morrill Hall on the third Sunday of each month. Don’t forget about the wonderful planetarium shows and the gift shop while you are there. If you are out traveling the state this summer, be sure and stop by Trailside Museum inside Fort Robinson State Park near Crawford. See the famous interlocked mammoths on display. The “Clash of the Mammoths” is a one of a kind exhibit. The two mammoths were excavated near Crawford in 1962, and Friends President Mark Brohman stands next to one of Joel Sartore’s photographs in the new they were found with their tusks locked together, suggesting Cooper Gallery exhibit, “Amphibians: Vibrant and Vanishing.” (Image shown: Sartore’s photograph of a green and black poison dart frog, Panama morph (Dendrobates auratus); joelsartore.com.) they fought to the death. The Trailside Museum is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. Another stop can be Ashfall Fossil Beds near Royal where you can see animal skeletons frozen in time. They are most famous for the numerous rhinos found at the site. This is Ashfall’s 20th anniversary, and they are now AMPHIBIANS open for the summer. VIBRANT AND VANISHING Amateur photographers can submit their favorite photos to the Wildlife and Nature Photo Contest that is open until June NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC PHOTOGRAPHER JOEL SARTORE 18th. Details can be found at the Museum’s website. I encourage everyone to try and visit Morrill Hall, the Trailside Museum at Fort Robinson near Crawford, and Ashfall Morrill Hall, Cooper Gallery Fossil Beds near Royal this summer. Travel safely. On display through — Mark A. Brohman, Board President October 2011 Friends of the University of Nebraska State Museum

The University of Nebraska State Museum’s 3rd annual Wildlife & Nature Photo Contest

Mammals Other Wildlife Entries are due by June 18. For contest rules and entry form, please visit Plant Life Landscapes & Skyscapes Birds Nature & People museum.unl.edu

ALL PHOTO ENTRIES WILL GO ON EXHIBIT AT MORRILL HALL JULY 1-LABOR DAY

4 T H E M A M M O T H Friends of the University of Nebraska State Museum NEWS & INFO Celebrating Life in the PAST

At the University of Nebraska State Museum From historic Morrill Hall – home to “Archie the Mammoth” on the University of Nebraska–Lincoln campus -- to Ashfall Fossil Beds near Royal and the Trailside Museum at Fort Robinson, the University of Nebraska State Museum enriches the lives of more than 100,000 visitors and students each year, creating lifelong memories and inspiring a love of science and learning.

The University of Nebraska is involved in a campaign to “Life in the Past Lane” highlights amazing raise $1.2 billion to support students, faculty, research and programs. You can choose to help the museum by making a fossils salvaged over the last 50 years contribution to the Friends of the University of Nebraska through Nebraska’s unique State Museum Fund. Highway Paleontology Program. To learn more about the museum and the campaign, contact Connie Pejsar, [email protected], Rare fossils on exhibit include a six-foot-tall flightless bird, 402-458-1190 or 800-432-3216. 40-foot-long plesiosaur, lion 25 percent larger than the To give online, go to nufoundation.org/friendsofthestatemuseum modern African lion, giant land tortoise... and more! Morrill Hall • 2nd Floor On display through September 2011 Don’t let this one pass you by! COLORFUL CREATURE Statewide Art Contest Exhibit

1st place winner Over 500 Nebraska youth in grades K-5 participated in the among 2-3 graders. By Johnathan Li State Museum’s 3rd annual “Colorful Creature” art contest. of Lincoln, Nebraska. All entries will be on display at Morrill Hall through June 26.

May 2011 5 NEWS & INFO Museum Years of Memories Discovery! 1871 l 2011

In honor of the State Museum’s 140th anniversary, we asked YOU to share some of your fondest memories of Morrill Hall, Ashfall, and Trailside.

Reflections from the Past...

I am amazed to learn that the Museum is celebrating 1department.4 Dr. Bertrand 0 its one hundred and fortieth anniversary. I can certainly say Schultz, the Director of the that it was a distinct privilege to have been a small part of that Museum, enhanced the situation history for nineteen years. In addition, those years were the by suggesting he was open to the most influential in my maturation as a museum professional, prospect of my working at the due to activities and people I encountered both within and Museum part time while actively beyond the confines of Lincoln. pursuing my Ph.D. – which Nancy and my two young sons (another about to seemed to us like a gift from be born) arrived in Lincoln with great anticipation during heaven! How could we refuse? the early spring of 1965. Not only was I about to assume the The next five years educational curator role of the Museum but also an opportunity flashed by, but in the middle to undertake my pursuit of a Ph.D. This developed because of this span I was given the of Dr. Al Fagerstrom, whom I had met the year before while responsibility by Dr. Schultz Allan D. Griesemer attending a NSF and AAM sponsored six week summer to research the possibility of institute at the University of Nebraska, focused on geology creating a Museum Studies Program on a master’s level that and paleontology. At that time I was working at the Dayton would involve not only our Museum but also the Sheldon Museum of Natural History and had almost abandoned the idea Gallery and the State Historical Museum. This formidable task of pursuing a doctorate since my family was growing rapidly did get past the approval stage of the Graduate School in 1967 as was my age. So, in addition to the summer institute that but, unfortunately, never received the funding required to see reawakened my desire to advance academically, Dr. Fagerstrom the light of day. I finally finished my degree in 1970, and within became aware that the Museum would three years was asked to serve as Interim soon have an opening in Director after Dr. Schultz’s their education retirement.

Photo by Mark Dahmke, 2011 6 T H E M A M M O T H Friends of the University of Nebraska State Museum NEWS & INFO

It became clear to all on the staff at this time that Brill, Kay Reed, Marie Wells, Kay Young, Mary Lou Pritchard, to awaken the University to the needs and importance of the and Trixi Schmidt. I apologize to those my memory fails to Museum, we needed to create a long range plan which, to my recall – I am getting to that point in my life. The immediate knowledge, had never been done before. It didn’t shock anyone role the Friends played was to work with Senator Don Wesley to that the proposed five year plan included a more than tenfold help raise the awareness of the need for Morrill Hall to become increase in our budget, including a proposal for the doubling of climate controlled which I believe finally happened four years our physical plant at Morrill Hall. later. Probably no one at this point wants to remember the Other memories of the 70s included the hiring of arrival of the Apollo space capsule, that had flown, but without Roger Vandiver, a very talented artist and sculpturer. The first passengers. For its arrival and dedication we were honored to task Dr. Schultz asked Roger to undertake was the fabrication have astronaut Sally Ride present, which was quite an event. of the world’s largest land vertebrate, a Baluchithere – life sized. In the end there are two primary experiences that This formidable beast stood in Elephant Hall for many years. It will always be the highlights of my time at the University of was supposed to be the center piece of Dr. Schultz’s unrealized Nebraska State Museum– talking to elementary school children dream of a Hall of Giants. Later in 1975 Roger also created a life (particularly fourth graders) about the history of the natural sized allosaur for the Dinosaur Hall on the second floor, which world (which I must have done a couple thousand times) became a very popular exhibit. and being privileged to work side by side with a very talented The 80s memories focus on the creation of the and committed staff. If anything was accomplished during Encounter Center which grew out of a conversation with my tenure, it was because I could draw on the expertise and Jack Dunn as we were driving back from Denver where we dedication of these people who understood that museums are had attended a museum meeting at the Denver Museum of educational institutions starting with pure research and ending Natural History. This Center (1980) would not have been with public exhibitions, published papers, and, for me, when the eyes of a child suddenly widened as something you have said ‘clicked’ for them. I guess that is every teacher’s greatest “Museums are educational compliment and reward. Museums are critical educational institutions for learning never ends. We must not forget that! institutions starting with pure — Allan D. Griesemer, Museum Director, 1973-1974; research and ending with public Museum Interim Director, 1983-1984 exhibitions, published papers, and for me, when the eyes of a child suddenly widened as something you have said ‘clicked’ for them.” —Allan D. Griesemer, Former Museum Director possible without the assistance of the Lincoln Junior League, who underwrote the project for its first three years. Hands- on learning was just beginning to come alive about this time around the country, and it was a big success in Lincoln. Equally important to the future of the Museum was the creation of the Friends of the Museum which had its incorporation in 1983 due to the enthusiasm of staff and many local people. I hesitate to mention names, but the ones that stick in my memory were Betty Anderson, Diane Walkowiak, Jean Shankland, Naomi

SHARE YOUR MUSEUM MEMORIES If you would like one of your Museum memories to be considered for a future issue of The Mammoth, please send write-ups and JPEG photos to [email protected]. Visit our website for more information on the Museum’s history, along with upcoming events and exhibits. A life-size fabrication of a Baluchithere, the world’s largest land vertebrate, was on display museum.unl.edu/140 in Elephant Hall in the 1970s. (Seen here with a decorative bow for the holidays.) More ‘Museum Memories’ on page 8. May 2011 7 NEWS & INFO

‘Museum Memories’ continued.

A life-long love of Morrill Hall

I love Morrill Hall so much that I chose to get married there in 2008! It was a beautiful wedding, and so many people are impressed when they hear I got married at a natural history museum. And my husband and I are still going strong. As a student at UNL, Morrill Hall was a place I liked to hang out at between classes. I attended a few events there and was so excited to learn that Elephant Hall could be rented Natasha Luepke and her husband wed in Elephant Hall in 2008. out. At the age of 19 I decided I would be married there— even though I wasn’t sure I would even get married at that point. When my husband proposed, we discussed a few options for where to hold the wedding, but he liked the idea of getting married in a museum from the start. Inspiring future I have one other important Morrill Hall memory to share... my family used to live in Wisconsin. In 1991, my mom museum leaders... and I took a trip to Lincoln (my first time on a plane!) to visit my aunt who was living there. I was 8 years old and obsessed I grew up in Lincoln, and visiting “Elephant Hall” with dinosaurs, so of course we went to Morrill Hall. I fell in was my favorite activity, ranking over anything else when love. And when I was 17 and applying to schools, I applied to Mom asked what we wanted to do on a Saturday. I loved the UNL in large part because of my memories of Morrill Hall Museum and everything in it. I also loved the campus and (my parents and I had moved to Georgia in the meantime). seeing all the college students. Every time the family went to Every time I’m in town visiting friends, I make a the Museum it was an adventure. special stop at Morrill Hall. In fact, I loved the Museum so much that I wanted to work in the museum field when I grew up, although this — Natasha Luepke, lifelong fan of Morrill Hall may have had something to do with the fact that my father was a curator for the National Park Service (now retired). When I graduated from UNL with a BA in art history I went to University College London (UCL) for a MSc in Conservation, and today I work at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in the Department of Arms and Armor. But Morrill Hall is still my favorite.

— Edward Hunter, Associate Conservator, Department of Arms and Armor at the Natasha Luepke inside Morrill Hall’s Jurassic Gallery in 1991. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.

Edward Hunter at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

8 T H E M A M M O T H Friends of the University of Nebraska State Museum NEWS & INFO

A WALK THROUGH TIME Compiled by George Corner and Shane Tucker Since its founding in 1871, the Museum has captured the imagination of those who have entered its hallways. Dynamic exhibits, events, and people have shaped it into what it is today. Here are selected activities from the past 140 years. April 1940 Reider appeared on several radio shows in New York City playing the "Bonophone". In the 1960s, it was exhibited in Morrill Hall, and his renditions of "Chop Sticks" and "There is No Place Like Nebraska" could be played for a nickel. On the day of his death, the tape went on an endless loop echoing his musings throughout Morrill Hall. 1945 The month of May was designated "Museum Month". New exhibits, colored natural history movies, special Sunday tours, and local radio broadcasts were held in 1926 Ground was broken for Morrill Hall. It was conjunction with this promotion in subsequent years. completed within a year at a cost of $224,890. 1951 The bobcat diorama opened in the Hall of 1927 Collections and exhibits were moved from Nebraska Wildlife on the first floor of Morrill Hall. In the Museum Building (1908-1927) to Morrill 1996, rock ledges and interactive exhibits were added Hall. Museum director E.H. Barbour noticed the outside the case. extreme care taken by Henry Reider, an employee for the moving company, and hired him to work 1953 A whooping crane exhibit depicting a Sand Hills lake for the Museum. Reider spent 36 years as a was installed in the Hall of Nebraska Wildlife. preparator and exhibits specialist. "Old" Nebraska Hall ca.1900

1930 The lower jaw of Amebelodon fricki, a shovel- tusked elephant, was placed on exhibit. In 1927, this eight million-year-old "four-tusker" was discovered near Freedom, Nebraska.

1932 The modern African elephant taxidermy mounts are installed in Elephant Hall. In 1929, Adam Breede, editor for the Hastings newspaper, donated the elephants and other African mammals to the Museum.

1933 Henry Reider 1961 Barbour's collection of Daemonelices ("Devil's finished making a corkscrews") was removed to make way for the Barnyard xylophone, the Exhibit in Morrill Hall. These beaver burrows, including "Bonophone", from several in the Agate Case at Morrill Hall, have been fossilized rhino displayed in three different museum buildings since 1891. ribs. Henry 1971 Fifteen days after the Parasitology collections were performed at moved into Nebraska Hall, Curator Harold Manter died church socials, Boy during heart surgery. Scout meetings, high school 1985 "Midnight Snack", a movie filmed in Morrill Hall by assemblies, and UNL film studies students, played at the Sheldon Theater. civic clubs in the area. 1987 "State Museum: Still Digging," premiered on Nebraska Educational Television. Continued on pages 10-11. May 2011 9 NEWS & INFO

1988 The Mueller Planetarium celebrated its 30th June anniversary. More than 30,000 people visited the planetarium this year.

2001 The Museum hosted a ceremony in conjunction with the First Day of Issue for the Great Plains Prairie Commemorative Stamps. This 10-stamp panel depicts 25 plant and animal species native to mixed-grass prairie.

May 1926 The cornerstone of Morrill Hall containing the 1888 "Old" Nebraska Hall, the second building housing autobiography of Charles Morrill, scientific publications, museum collections, was dedicated. The Museum and photos of Morrill's family, Director E.H. Barbour, occupied space on the east end of the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd University Chancellor Samuel Avery, and the Board of floors from 1888-1908. The building was located near Regents was put in place. Manter Hall on UNL's City Campus and razed in 1961. 1927 Elizabeth Dolan finished frescoes (water colors on 1891 E.H. Barbour made his first trip to western wet plaster) in the east hallway cases on the second floor of Nebraska and discovered the "Daimonelices". Originally, Morrill Hall. Originally, a South American glyptodont he thought they were the fossilized roots of plants rather was mounted where the rhino is today. After it was moved than beaver burrows. to the Ice Age Case, the glyptodonts were "touched up" in 1928 The African elephant skeleton, originally from a the background. German zoo, was mounted in the northeast corner of 1927 On May 28, Morrill Hall was formally dedicated. Elephant Hall. The Museum purchased it from Ward's Natural Science for $300. 1947 Erwin Hinckley Barbour, former Museum Director and Curator of Vertebrate Paleontology, died at the age of 91. He is buried at Wyuka Cemetery.

1947 A fire in a drying cabinet destroyed several bird mounts and caused minor damage at Morrill 1922 Hall. 1952 The Ralph Mueller Gallery of Health Sciences was dedicated. It included exhibits on cell growth, life 1962 The Barnyard Exhibit opened in the Camel expectancy, and the "Wonder of Life", a series of Gallery. The horse skeleton in this case was originally models illustrating fetus development and child birth. mounted at "Old" Nebraska Hall in 1888. 1954 The Museum created a temporary exhibit entitled 1986 The Henry Doorly Zoo donated part of a male "One Hundred Years of Fossil Hunting in Nebraska" African elephant skeleton to the Museum's Zoology which included rhinoceros, elephant, camel, and Division. mosasaur specimens. It was displayed in Omaha during the city's centennial celebration. 1991 Ashfall Fossil Beds opened twenty years after Dr. 1957 The Michael Voorhies discovered a rhino jaw eroding from a Broadwater ravine. During the first five months, nearly 38,000 people Stegomastodon visited the park. In 2006, Ashfall was designated a skeletal mount was National Natural Landmark by the Secretary of Interior. installed on the west side of 2001 Astronomy Day included a presentation by Nagin Elephant Hall. It Cox entitled "The Daring Return to Io: Moon of was collected in Volcanoes and Fire" discussing NASA's Galileo Mission 1939 by a W.P.A. to Jupiter. field party.

10 T H E M A M M O T H Friends of the University of Nebraska State Museum NEWS & INFO

1971 Trailside Museum hosted a reunion for former 1997 The Vertebrate Paleontology Division created new museum collectors including the Works Progress exhibits for Agate Fossil Beds National Monument. Staff Administrati on (W.P.A.) field crews. These crews members individually placed more than 1000 replica collected roughly 350,000 fossils throughout Nebraska bones to reconstruct the world-famous fossil quarry.

1987 The legislature passed LB 218 authorizing $3.93M 2005 T he Paul and Betty Marx Discovery Center was for a climate control system in Morrill Hall. dedicated. Several hands-on exhibits, including a beaver dam, rock outcrop with local geology, and miniature 1992 The Museum hosted the Society for the Ashfall dig site, were added. Preservation of Natural History Collections (SPNHC) annual meeting. 2008 Construction began on the new 17,500 square foot Hubbard Family Rhino Barn at Ashfall Fossil Beds. Seven 1996 The Friends of the Museum sponsored a Retro new skeletons have been uncovered during the past two Party including period dress to celebrate the field seasons. Museum's 125th Anniversary.

From the Field

1915 Under most circumstances receiving a note from the 1939 The Works Progress principal is not good. In March, Museum Director E.H. Administration (W.P.A.) Barbour was contacted by R.J. LaPorte, a school principal was a government in Campbell, Nebraska. While digging the footings for a program that created new high school building, workmen discovered a jobs for unemployed mammoth skull and tusks. On March 31, Barbour left citizens during the Great Lincoln by train at 2:00 am. The specimen was well Depression. The preserved with both tusks lying side by side. The tusks Museum hired were nearly 12 feet long, 10 inches in diameter, and carpenters, preparators, helically curved. Each day more than 1000 spectators and field collectors with stopped by to watch Barbour and crew collect the these funds. W.P.A. field specimen. After four days, it was shipped back to Lincoln parties are responsible on a train. The specimen was displayed for more than 25 for approximately 25% of years and is now housed in the Vertebrate Paleontology the fossils in the research collections at Nebraska Hall. In 2001, George Vertebrate Paleontology Corner returned to the site after the building was razed research collections. 1939 and found a few more pieces of its skeleton including a Between 1938 and 1941, they excavated more than 3,000 vertebra sitting right under the foundation. bones from a 3 million-year-old deposit near Lisco. In a June 22, 1939 journal entry, field supervisor Emery Blue (above) wrote "To-day we found a fine giant camel mandable in perfect condition. Also new ramus, which appears to be the jaw of a sloth?". The giant camel (Gigantocamelus) and ground sloth (Megalonyx) skeletal mounts in Morrill Hall are from the Lisco quarries.

2004 On June 20, the Highway Paleontology Program was working near Gering. A thunderstorm passed through around 4:00 pm with lightning and baseball-sized hail. The hailstones cracked the truck's windshield and went through Sketch of the Campbell mammoth in Barbour's field book. one of the tents. Storms continued through the evening.

May 2011 11 NEWS & INFO CContinued fromO cover loRFUL CREATURE DAY! 1,100 visitors celebrate art and animals at Morrill Hall April 2

Visitors of all ages flocked to Morrill Hall on April 2 to experience the 3rd annual “Colorful Creature Day.” We lucked out again this year with beautiful weather, which allowed us to station hoofed animals outside to greet children and their parents as they approached the Museum. (You don’t often see a cow hanging out in front of the “Archie” statue!) A variety of volunteer groups were on hand to give children the opportunity to create animal-inspired art and interact with many different kinds of creatures— including a hedgehog, vulture, owl, llamas, alpacas, pigs, birds, rabbits, reptiles, insects, amphibians, and more! This event also celebrated the unveiling of the Museum’s Colorful Creature art exhibit, comprised of over 500 entries received from its statewide art contest this spring. All the entries, including the ribbon winners, will be on display at Morrill Hall through June 26. Kudos to the Museum staff and numerous THANKS volunteers from the following organizations who to all the Friends made this such a special day! who celebrated • Lincoln Children’s Zoo Colorful Creature Day • Pioneers Park Nature Center with us! • Raptor Recovery • Capital Humane Society • Spring Creek Prairie Audubon • Nebraska Parrot Rescue • Star City Llama and Alpaca 4-H Club • Rabbits R Us 4-H Club • Guild of Natural Scientific Illustrators, Great Plains Chapter • Lincoln’s Watershed Management Division • Nebraska Herpetological Society • UNL Department of Art and Art History • UNL School of Natural Resources • UNL Department of Entomology • UNL Wildlife Club Generous support for this event was also provided by the Hixson-Lied Endowment. See more photos of the —Dana Ludvik, Public Relations Coordinator event on our Facebook page! 12 T H E M A M M O T H Friends of the University of Nebraska State Museum RESEARCH

FLORA SANDOZ’S CONTRIBUTION TO THE BESSEY HERBARIUM

The sister of author Mari Sandoz collected significant botanical specimens from Nebraska’s Sandhills

With a name like “Flora As of May 6, 2011, the Charles E. Bessey Herbarium had Rosa,” it seems only 224 of Flora’s specimens recorded in its electronic database, natural that Flora Sandoz and others are likely to be found as databasing progresses. was destined to show an The majority of the specimens were collected in 1933 and interest in plants. She 1934 at the Sandoz Home and Osborne Ranch near Ellsworth, received her name from Nebraska, located in Sheridan County. They are great her older sister, Mari, one representations of the flora found in the Sandhills region. of Nebraska’s foremost One specimen in particular, Townsendia exscapa writers, and while Flora (townsendia daisy), is a native plant that Flora collected and is often overshadowed by the handwritten note on the label says, “Most blossom in April Mari’s success in literature, and I found one on the 15th of March this year.” This serves as her own contributions to the earliest flowering record for that species. the field of botany are still Flora maintained her botanical knowledge and kept up to remembered and can be seen date on topics in her field by reading horticulture publications Flora Sandoz, 1931. (Photo provided by the in the Charles E. Bessey throughout her life. Flora died April 30, 1995 at the age of Mari Sandoz High Plains Heritage Center, Herbarium at the University 89 and is buried at the Greenwood Cemetery in Alliance, Chadron, Nebraska.) of Nebraska State Museum. Nebraska. Flora was born May For those interested in learning more about Flora and 12, 1906 to Jules and Mary Sandoz on the Old River Place her work, “Flora Sandoz, The Wild Flowers of Nebraska” is an south of Hay Springs, Nebraska. Flora enrolled in the botany interactive exhibit at the Mari Sandoz High Plains Heritage program at the University of Minnesota in 1929 and earned Center at Chadron State College. It features commentary by her degree three years later before returning home. Unable to Flora on wildflowers that she collected around her home with find a job due to the Depression, Flora kept busy taking care of accompanying photographs. Correspondence between Flora the cattle and orchards where she lived. It is reported that she and Mari can also be found in the Mari Sandoz Collection at experimented on varieties of fruit trees, especially apples, and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries. kept accurate records of her harvests and of annual rainfall. She also took pictures of wildflowers. — Caroline Shinn, Botany Student Worker

CONGRATS! MUSEUM RESEARCHERS RECOGNIZED, PUBLISHED

On April 20, the The October 21 issue Curator of the Division of Nature, the weekly of Entomology, Brett international journal Ratcliffe, was presented of science, featured a the Faculty International paper by Ross Secord, Scholar of the Year Assistant Professor in award by the Nebraska UNL’s Department of chapter of Phi Beta Earth and Atmospheric Delta, an international Sciences and Curator honor society. This of the Museum’s award was given in Brett Ratcliffe (far left). Division of Vertebrate Ross Secord. recognition of Ratcliffe’s Paleontology. The article central Wyoming. Their scholarly achievement in is based on research findings may influence the international education. conducted by Secord way scientists think about and his team on fossils global warming and its collected from the effects. Read the full article Bighorn Basin in north- on www.nature.com. May 2011 13 RESEARCH A NEW FOSSIL FIND MARKS 30 YEARS OF DISCOVERY

In paleontology, “discovery” can be by slow degrees, or fast as in the rapid removal of sediment from bone. A recent discovery illustrates both its slow and quick aspects and causes us to celebrate a 30-year era of research, exhibit development, and outreach by the University of Nebraska State Museum (UNSM) with the National Park Service at Agate Fossil Beds National Monument. Agate is located 30 miles south of the town of Harrison near the headwaters of the Niobrara River. The national monument is a delightful place to hike and to gain insight into our state’s remarkable prehistory.

Rapid, energetic, uncovering The museum’s connection to this world-famous paleontological site began in the early 20th century when E.H. Barbour of the University of Nebraska opened a quarry on University Hill in 1905. However, credit for the discovery of the Agate bonebed rests with paleontologist Olaf Peterson of Pittsburgh’s Carnegie Museum. His excavation at Carnegie Hill in 1904 resulted in an invasion of scientists and excavators from America’s museums and universities, followed by a period of intense, sometimes competitive, quarrying, lasting from 1905 to 1923. A single, thin layer of rock near the base of the two hills yielded hundreds of skeletons of the small rhinoceros Menoceras, a herd of the large chalicothere Moropus, and remains of the formidable scavenger Dinohyus. By the 1930s, when scientists were shifting their attention elsewhere, many museums were well supplied with these 20-milllion year old fossils, but an understanding of the story behind the bonebed and the Waterhole diorama. paleo-environmental clues held by the hills themselves was still awaiting discovery. Slow discovery When Bob Hunt arrived at UNSM in the early 1970s, he was aware that the Agate quarries had long stood idle. Indeed, UNSM’s last field crew had departed Agate in 1908, taking the train from Harrison back to Lincoln, its baggage car weighted with plaster jackets and massive rock slabs carved from the bonebed. In the intervening years, the fossil bed had passed from private ownership to the National Park Service after an international coalition of paleontologists, along with Nebraska citizens and legislators, testified to its significance as a keystone of North American paleontology. Now, by the 1970s, scientists had new methods and new questions to apply to sites such as Agate. These didn’t require the discovery of more fossils, but rather a careful look at the rocks containing the fossils. Bob and his students began to examine and map the rocks exposed along the Niobrara Ellen painting a cast for the bonebed. River from Harrison south to Agate. This took several summers of painstaking work but only with a thorough knowledge of the typical sedimentary sequence could the drama preserved in the rocks at Agate be understood. Outcrops in the Niobrara’s canyon revealed the exceedingly flat, arid, and newly-evolved grassland environments that prevailed in Sioux County 20-23 million years ago. Finally, in 1981, we received our first National Park permit enabling the excavation and collection of fossils, but still we were more concerned with recording, on aerial photographs, the geologic rock units exposed at the national monument. We recognized that University Hill and Carnegie Hill lay directly in the path of an ancient river system that had wended eastward from Wyoming’s Hartville Mountains. That river was braided, broad, shallow, and of very low energy. It may have well been dry from time to time. However, it would have provided an appealing oasis in a landscape otherwise devoid of surface water.

14 T H E M A M M O T H Friends of the University of Nebraska State Museum RESEARCH

In 1985 we were almost ready to re-open the old quarries at Agate, and we conducted some test excavations. Then in 1986, a field crew including Bob, preparator Rob Skolnick, and several graduate students, exposed the circumference of Carnegie Hill. This provided a three dimensional view of the bonebed sediments. We could then see that the bonebed occurred in an abandoned side channel of the river, an oxbow, which in turn had held a seasonal waterhole, with its greatest depth being six feet. Many types of evidence (the condition and distribution of the skeletons, scavenged bones, animal tracks, limey mudstones, the absence of fishes, etc.) pointed to a single, catastrophic drought event playing out over a relatively short period of time and causing the deaths of entire herds of ungulates. The entombing sediments had sensitively recorded the scenario, layer by layer.

Synthesis The conclusion of UNSM excavations in the Carnegie Hill quarries coincided with the intention of the National Park Service to build a new visitor center at Agate. National Park staff joined citizens of Scottsbluff, Gering, and Harrison to develop and finance a plan incorporating our research into educational exhibits. The centerpiece of the visitor center would be a life-size diorama recreating the mass death of mammals during the Agate drought. Additional displays would show how the geological evidence and the fossils had been interpreted by paleontologists. Construction of the waterhole diorama was a huge undertaking. Over 2000 bones were duplicated from originals in the University’s Agate collection by preparators Ellen Stepleton and Rob Skolnick. These were used to replicate the Detail of bonebed and Marcuson mural. bonebed as it appeared near the conclusion of the drought event. Skeletons of chalicotheres, entelodonts, and beardogs were molded, cast, and mounted by UNSM and other museums. Vivid and richly detailed murals depicting the drying waterhole were completed by artist Mark Marcuson. In June 1997, this phase of our work at Agate reached its conclusion with the opening of the waterhole diorama and interpretive exhibits at the new NPS Visitor Center. The latest discovery, slow and fast A final remarkable discovery has taken place recently but stems from our earlier excavations. In the 1980s, while searching for the original Carnegie Museum quarries of 1905, we relocated Olaf Peterson’s “Quarry 3” which, curiously, had produced almost nothing but the bones of carnivores. Carnivores are uncommon in the fossil record generally (reflecting their numerical scarcity relative to herbivores), and in the Agate waterhole they were represented by only a few limb bones and teeth. So why were there so many carnivore bones in this particular quarry, 600 feet south of the waterhole? As our exploration of “Quarry 3” progressed, the walls and floors of burrows began to appear, outlined in the sediments. We eventually realized that Peterson’s Quarry 3 had penetrated a series of carnivore dens. This, it turned out, was the oldest known occurrence of large carnivore dens in the fossil record. We were amazed to find that some of the burrows still contained their residents, having escaped detection by the 1905 excavators. In all, five carnivore species have been recovered from the den site, a rather startling statistic. The dens were mapped and then re-covered to preserve Rob prepared the the easily-eroded burrows and remaining skeletons for future investigators. new beardog. Some of the carnivore material we removed was put aside until other research demands had been met. Recently, preparator Rob Skolnick opened the last remaining field jacket from the dens. As he removed rock from the specimen, the visage of an entirely new kind of beardog peered back at him. This was an animal that may have profited handsomely from the Agate drought, as its bone-crushing dentition indicated a lifestyle very similar to Africa’s spotted hyena. It is fascinating to paleontologists to see how an extinct lineage, not at all related to hyenas, co-evolved with North America’s earliest grassland faunas and how one of its species developed the specializations required for the “hyena” niche. This new beardog from Agate will be published this year by the American Museum of Natural History— a fortunate and timely discovery to help celebrate the 30th UNSM-NPS anniversary. — Ellen Stepleton, Preparator; Rob Skolnick, Preparator; Bob Hunt, Curator Emeritus, Division of Vertebrate Paleontology

May 2011 15 EDUCATION

A F am A Fa ily m

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'Sunday with a Scientist' events are held the 3rd Sunday r a

of each month from 1:30-4:30 p.m. at Morrill Hall. m Join us to interact with scientists and explore new topics! A F am i FEBRUARY MARCH ly P r o

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a A Fam m i ly P

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a m PARASITES LASERS & OPTICS

On February 20, scientists in the State Museum’s Parasitology Division On March 20, visitors learned about light, lasers, and optics from scientists in the UNL “hosted” a program all about parasites. Visitors investigated parasitic Department of Electrical Engineering. Visitors were given the opportunity to tune and specimens in vials and microscopes and learned about parasite biodiversity, generate lasers, while exploring the fascinating properties of light. The scientists also systematics, biogeography, and taxonomy. explained the many ways we encounter lasers and optics in daily life, from sunglasses, TV remote controllers, LCD displays, DVD players, to hologram art.

16 T H E M A M M O T H Friends of the University of Nebraska State Museum EDUCATION

June 19 - Tissue Mechanics Oct. 16 - Fossils MARK YOUR July 17 - Fish Nov. 20 - Viruses CALENDARS! Aug. 21 - Climate Change Dec. 18 - Minerals Sept. 18 - Plants For more information on these and previous programs, visit museum.unl.edu.

APRIL MAY FRUIT

On April 17, visitors explored the fascinating world of fruit. Scientists in the UNL School of Biological Sciences provided hands-on activities to help the public learn about the diversity of cultivated and wild fruit. The scientists also explained the important role fruit plays in the environment, the plant life cycle, and the diets of animals and humans. EXTREME WEATHER On May 15, scientists in the UNL Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences led a program to teach visitors about the basic causes of extreme weather phenomena, — Dana Ludvik, Public Relations Coordinator such as tornadoes, thunderstorms, hurricanes, and blizzards. Visitors also learned about the tools and methods scientists use to observe, study, and predict extreme See more photos on our Facebook page! weather. May 2011 17 TRAILSIDE MUSEUM

TRAILSIDE TURNS 50! “I hope Trailside will continue to be a great example of the outstanding natural history discoveries that are made in the Pine Ridge and Badland areas of Nebraska,” said Voorhies. The Trailside Museum of Natural History at Fort “I suspect that the museum will remain a focal point for Robinson State Park near Crawford, Nebraska is now open people in northwest Nebraska who are interested in their own for its 50th anniversary season. Trailside has been a branch natural history. People out there have a lot of pride in their museum of the University of Nebraska State Museum since own area. And it’s a great place to bring their kids.” 1961. — Dana Ludvik, Public Relations Coordinator To celebrate this milestone, the Trailside Museum added a new rock shop featuring minerals from all over the world and adjusted its hours of operation in order to better meet the needs of visitors. These changes are part of ongoing efforts to enhance the Trailside, including the recent installation of a new paleontology exhibit featuring art by Mark Marcuson and a new cast of a 3-toed fossil horse (Cormohipparion). Trailside was established in 1961 under the leadership of Museum Director C. Bertrand Schultz (1941-1973). The museum exhibits represent vertebrate fossils, plant life, geology, and other natural history objects of western Nebraska and the Fort Robinson area. Trailside’s showpiece exhibit depicts two battling Ice Age mammoths with tusks locked together in a permanent death grip. The two bull mammoths were discovered in the summer of 1962 in the Little Badlands

“I hope Trailside will continue to be a great example of the outstanding natural history discoveries that are made in the Pine Ridge and Badland areas of Nebraska.” --Dr. Mike Voorhies, Curator Emeritus for Vertebrate Paleontology at the State Museum Grand opening of the Trailside Museum of Natural History, June 3, 1961. From left: Nebraska Senator George Gerdes, Nebraska Governor Frank B. Morrison, and University of Nebraska State Museum Director C. Bertrand Schultz. formations near Crawford. After being tucked away for over 40 years in the State Museum’s research facility on the UNL campus, the decision was made to return the skeletal remains of the ancient beasts back to western Nebraska. Trailside’s dramatic “Clash of the Mammoths” exhibit opened in the summer of 2006 and continues to serve as a key attraction for tourists. Dr. Mike Voorhies, Curator Emeritus for Vertebrate Paleontology at the State Museum, led the field party that discovered and excavated the one-of-a-kind fossils. “I was a senior at the University of Nebraska at the time. On rainy days when we weren’t out collecting fossils in the field, we worked in the Trailside Museum and put together the original displays,” he said. “It’s fun for me to see how the place has grown over the years.” Plans are in place to make additional improvements to Trailside in the future to further enrich the visitor Excavation of two bull mammoths with tusks locked together near Crawford, 1962. These experience and educate the public on the wonders of the one-of-a-kind fossils eventually returned to western Nebraska to go permanent display in region. Trailside’s “Clash of the Mammoths” exhibit in 2006. (Dr. Voorhies is pictured on the far left.) 18 T H E M A M M O T H Friends of the University of Nebraska State Museum ASHFALL FOSSIL BEDS

ASHFALL’S 2011 FRIENDS FOSSIL EXCAVATION SET FOR JULY 21-23

Registrations are being accepted now for the 2011 Friends Fossil Excavation. This annual workshop will be held July 21-23, 2011 at or near the Ashfall Fossil Beds State Historical Park. If you are curious about the excavation process and learning more about paleontology in Nebraska, consider giving this learning experience a try. Past participants have made some pretty interesting discoveries… everything from rodent teeth to giant camel bones… all while learning more about Nebraska’s prehistory and the science of paleontology. July is a wonderful time to visit northeast Nebraska, with the summer wildflowers in full bloom and the prairie grasses growing tall. And if you haven’t seen Ashfall’s Hubbard Rhino Barn, now is the time to come out and see this fantastic new facility and the many discoveries that have been made since it officially opened in 2009. Spots are limited for this hands-on adventure, so early registration is encouraged. — Sandy Mosel, Ashfall Fossil Beds

ABOVE: Friends members participating in an excavation on a ranch near the Ashfall site. AT LEFT: Hubbard Rhino Barn

Reservation Form for Friends Excavation at Ashfall Fossil Beds - 2011

Please reserve spaces (minimum age 16) for me/us on the following date(s)

*Must be a 2011 Friends *Friends Members — $60 (per person) X ______day(s) = $ ______member prior to January 1st to qualify for the Friends rate. Non-members — $110 (per person) X ______day(s) = $ ______

Thursday, July 21____ Friday, July 22____ Saturday, July 23____ (Check your choice)

Your name(s)______

Address, City, State, & Zip______

Phone Number______

Maximum of 10 participants per day. Register early to assure date(s) of your choice. Please return this form to: Ashfall Fossil Beds State Historical Park, 86930 517th Avenue, Royal, Nebraska 68773 or call (402) 893-2000 to reserve your space.

May 2011 19 CURRENT FRIENDS MEMBERSHIP

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FRIENDS Martina Bascom & Jim & Laura Commers Thomas Foulk & Amber Herrick & Ryan Erickson Melanie Collister-Foulk Patrick Timmer 20 T H E M A M M O T H Friends of the University of Nebraska State Museum CURRENT FRIENDS MEMBERSHIP FRIENDS David & Jennifer Hicks Thaddeus & Melissa Kowal Kay McLaughlin Graff Ismaih & Derya Ozcan Timothy & Stephanie Hill Drew & Becky Kramer William & Tanya McVay Carlton & Judy Paine Sally & Mike Hillis Ralph Krause & David & Zmora Adva Mechaly The Papproth/Seaton Family Ernie & Jane Hines Elizabeth Kernes Krause The Meier Family Timothy Parsons Elizabeth & Brooks Hitt The Krohn/McEntarffer Family Edith A Meints David & Tammy Partsch Larry & Dee Hogya Becky & Kelly Krueger Deseray Meister Dennis & Jessica Pate Cliff & Marcia Hollestelle Amanda & Lela Kruse Kevin Menefee & Joy Strayer Gira Patel & David Euler Juelle Holz & Leslie Troutt Christine Kunz & Mike & Jenny Merwick The Patterson Family Ted & Colleen Hubbard Thomas Erlandson Jordan & Angela Messerer Keith & Ruth Pearson Robin R. Huebner Laura and Shun Kwong Kevin & Denise Meyer Bryce & Nadine Pearson Barbara C. Hughes Michael and Carol LaCroix Joyce Michaelis & Gorden Peden Ronald & Lisa Hunter David & Melissa Lair Julianna Ehlers Michael & Carol Pedersen The Hutchins Family Tim & Suzy Landreth Lisa & Chad Michel Connie & Steve Pejsar Sarah & David Hwang The Lang Family John E. Millington Mark & Toni Pemberton Scott & Kelly Jacob Bill & Rhonda Lange Melissa Jo Mills The Peterdi/Molnar Family Mark & Mae James Joseph M. Larson Missionary Benedictine Sisters Nathaniel & Sarah Pettit Pat Janike & The Laursen Family Byron & Lissa Mitchell Jimeal & Angie Phillips Lora Carpenter-Janike Quang Le & Sherri Pham The Mobarak/Arvelo Family Deanna S. Pierce of the Karen & John Janovy Leatherman Family Stephen & Erin Mohring Marian Pierce Jennifer & Nick Ortner Avi & Serit Lebenthal Chanin & David Monestero Mike & Kari Pierson Greg Jensen Donald & Michele Leif Melissa & Andy Monnich Kevin Pike & Ellen Struve

Matt & Amy Jewell The Leija Family Lisa & Jonathan Montoya Karen & Lewis Plachy Judi Jirovsky & Mike Leite Terry & Cathy Moore The Plano Clark Family U Kristi Gustatson Bob Levin Jeremiah Moore & Ruan E. Pohlman OF NEBRASKA STATE MUSEUM NIVERSITY Scott & Della Johns Amelia Montes & Emily Levine Leah Powell-Moore Heidi & Charles Pospisil Chad & Jennifer Johnson William & Connie Lewis Jason & Renae Morehead Gwen Powell Clayton & Lois Johnson Shirley and Yong Li Patrick & Kimberly Morgan Walter & Jenny Powell Palmer & Shirley Johnson Shizu Li & Yongmei Chen The Morgenson Family Tom & Diane Pratt Rose & Ken Johnson Tali & Yair Liberman Rosalind Morris Robert Pribil Chad Johnson & Ryan Liebig Mary Burke Morrow Mary Lou H. Pritchard Kim Adams Johnson Choan & Susanne Liewer Ronald & Virginia Morse Brad & Katie Provancha Rhonda and Martin Jonas Lincoln Gem & Mineral Club The Moser Family The Putensen Family Rachelle & Linda Jones Jim & Gail Linderholm William & Christine Moser Shannon & Jake Quible The Jorgensen Family Mark & Takako Liska Daniel & Tamara Moskowitz Mary Rabenberg & Martin & Claire Jorgensen Nellie Littrell The Moy Family Richard Allen Joe & Carol Jurich Errol & Anne Lord Robert E. Muller Rabinowitz/Kimeldorfer Family Jay & Stacie Jurrens Jeff & Roxanne Lott Muslimin/Widiastuti Family Rositza & Kiril Rachev The Kahler Family Matthew & Jessica Luebbe Joel & Louise Myers Ellen Rainbolt & Amy Brt Brent Kamp & Marilyn Wise Debbra Luebbe Tim & Tara Mykris Sriram Ramaswany & Ying Fen Kao & Chi-Kuo Hu & Jaime Gorum John & Ann Neal and Shruti Malilc Tom & Donice Kaspar Rob & Nicole Lyman Aletha Biggs Donna & Darcy Ramsey Chris & Deanna Kastrinos Aaron & Calli Lyons David & Joanne Neeley Bill & Julit Randby Elizabeth Katt & Terry & Cheryl Maassen Benjamin & Marsha Neff Jessica Rantz & Harry Bullerdiek Cheri Macartney Marjorie M. Neill Dominic Badousek Brandon Kearns & Ronit & Matias Machtinger Raymond & Bernita Neujahr Charlene Rasmussen Kelly Wegner Bryan & Rachel Mack Diana Nevins Neal & Izen Ratzlaff Shari & Victor Kelemen Mary Ellen Macomber & Karyl & Mark Newman Allan Recalde & Robert & Ann Kelley Shirlee Vinton Xuan & Vu Nguyen Wendy Dorn-Recalde Yupin and James Kendrick Mike & Kelly Madcharo Rob & Melissa Nickolaus The Rees Family Alice & Lee Kenitz Levin Magroder & Mark A Nickolaus The Reesman Family William & Chris Kenkel Jenifer Sharlot Lanny & Rachel Nielsen Jeremy Rehwaldt & Shiri & Omri Kessel Laura & Jeremiah Maher Dan & Regina Noble Lisa Alexander Kevin & Susan Gustafson Eugene I Majerowicz Jim Nora & Julie Filips Tom & Janette Reifenrath Pat & Heidi Kile Curtis K. Mann John & Dee Novacek Christina & Matthew Rich Evan & Maggie Killeen Maria Manning Rama Novogrodsky & Ben Ami Tom Richter Emily and Owen Killham Kurt & Rebecca Mantonya Elaine Nowick Frederick & Margaret Rickers The Kincanon Family Jennie & Ryan Martin Kathleen Oberg Roger & Stacey Ridley Roger & Helga Kirst Matt & Amy Masek Megan & Brady Ockander Brent & Linda Riehl Brad & Linda Kistler Bill Masilko & Pam Dugan Stan & Fanny Odenthal Audra & Tony Ringenberg Andrew & Lori Kitzing The Massengale Family Valerie & Steve Odenthal Ray & Ann Ringlein Kevin & Diane Klein Lois & ZB Mayo James & Ruth O’Gara Adam & Melissa Roberts Chris & Milo Knezevic Doug & Jessica McCall The Okamoto Family Matt Robinson & Eugene Koob & Kerry Ryan Bill & Wilma McCamley Kimbulu Okitotete & Cheryl Christensen Russell Koos & Kara Foster Andy & Hope McFarlane Bokota Lifaefi Gene & Melissa Rogers Lisa & Lon Kopecky Jennifer & Jason McHargue Angela & Brian O’Neal David L. Rogers Tom & Tammy Kortus Carrie & Anthony McKenzie Allen & Virginia Overcash The Rohrs/Hudson Family Ryan & Stacey Kot Marj McKinty Pam & Mark Overman Continued on page 22 May 2011 21 CURRENT FRIENDS MEMBERSHIP

James & Cathi Roschewski Callie Slater & Jeff Tangeman Melvin & Rosemary Thornton Edward & Ellen Weiner Cory & Melissa Rotert Janelle & Shirley Smith Mary Lou Thornton Carl & Karen Welch David & Martha Rowe Tom & Jennifer Smith Janet Thurman Rick & Dawn Welchoff The Rudolph Family Michael J. Smith Machel Tichacek-Brower Donald C. & Diane Weldon The Russ/Ramirez Family Randall B. Smith Erica Timperley Linda & Vance West Carole & Ronald Russell Brian & Alicia Snider Cinda Timperley & Don & Mary Westerlin Lynne B. Ruth Lynn Sobotka Wayne Branagh The Weyeneth Family Ed & Schellie Sabata Renee & Matt Sobotka Irit & Amir Tirosh Dana & Andrea Wiens Todd & Kinda Salerno Mark & Diann Sorensen Tobin & Kirsten Stewart Robert & Deborah Wigton Emmanuel & Regina Samci Bill & Betty Splinter Scott & Jennifer Tomka Linda Willard Ronald & Susan Samson John & Donita Springer The Toohey Family David & Dixie Willats Tom & Sandy Sawyer Curt & Lisa Staab Richard Toren & Ann Willet & Mark Butler Larry & Lois Schaffer Thomas & Denese Stalnaker Sara LeRoy-Toren The Williams Family Lesa Schaller & The Stander Family Carrie & Rob Trutna Brent & Sadie Wilson Gabrielle Staben Toddy Ann & Ronald Stander Shane Tucker & Susie Wilson & Steve Hill Joseph & Melissa Schmahl Kevin & Sarah Steele Keely Rennie-Tucker Bradley & Kristine Winter Marilyn McDowell & Lee & Jessica Steinbrook Morrie & Amy Tuttle William & Barbara Woito Ed Schmidt Donald & Susan Steinegger Tracy A Tyner-Padilla & Lisa & Gary Wolterman Steve & Angie Schmidt Nick & Diane Steinke Daphne Cook Guo Wong & Hongying Zuo Trixie Schmidt Stephen & Trudy Waltman Dan Ullman & Rose Essaks The Wood Family Tim & Pam Schneider Linda Stephen & Guy & Bina Vachtel Eric & Marie Woodhead Carroll E. Schnurr Masaya Honda Kane & Melissa Valek The Worth/Richards Family Iris & Chen Schor Sara Stephenson Laurence & Cyrille Valery The Wroblewski Family The Schryver Family Jeremy & Konna Strack Dorothy Van Brocklin Zhenhua Wu Matthew & Kristin Schulte Stacey Stricker & Erin & Mike Van Cleave Yuan Xu David Lind Scott Jason Slaughter Kristin & Jonathan Van Meter Yael Madelblat-Cerf & Bill & Ruth Scott Sharon Stringman Mark & Diane Vanek Barak Cerf Daniel See & Stephanie Devor Jo Struempler Darby & Erica Vannier Ping Yang & April & Inocencio Segura The Suckerman Family Stephanie Vap-Morrow & QuiFan Andy Zhong Patrick & Christina Severson Nidia Morales Suleiman & Kirk Morrow The Yigal Family Perry & Janeanne Severson Dawood Salman Suleiman Grace A Varney Margo Young & Glenn & Tracy Seymour Eden Summers Robert Vavala & Richard DeFusco Iris & Gev Shai James B. Swinehart Mary Koens Vavala Kathleen L Young Thomas & Cindy Sherwood Katie Taddeucci Natasha Vavra Ron Zalkind & Greg & Marian Shimonek Elad & Galit Taig The Villa Family Karin Sharav-Zalkind Tal & Anat Shomrat Idith Tal-Kohen & Joseph & Barbara Vizner Ora & Adam Zawel The Shoop Family Gabriel Kohen Larry Voegele & Cristina Thaut Michael & Ella Zeldich Dan L. Shoop II & Ron and Lynn Tanner Andrea & Shirley Volf Mike Zeleny Jeffry Dwight Katherine & Bagher Tarkian Michael & Jane Voorhies Donal Ziegenbein Dror & Ruth Shouval Liz & Harold Tarr Ben Vrana Matt & Jenn Zier Vickie & Scott Shurmur Susan & Mike Tatum Ward & Emily Wageman Inbar & Eyal Zimlichman Robert & Margaret Sieber Tobie & Zak Tempelmeyer Dick & Doris Walker Don & Millie Zimmer Kris Sieckmeyer-Hajny & Beth & Brian Terry Valerie Walker Shari Zinnecker Mark Johnson Kristin & Danny Vela Scott & Nicole Wallace Marcus & Amy Zinsmaster Rachel Simpson & Craig & Lyla Thompson David & Rose Wallman Staci & Joel Zuerlein Donald Umstadter Daniel & Martha Thomson Don & Marita Ward Arthur & Christine Zygielbaum Ruthelen Sittler Donnty & Malissa Thongdy Charles & Betty Watt

Your membership in the Friends of the University of Nebraska State Museum supports Museum development, exhibits, and programs. Thank you for making a difference! BENEFITS ˚ Unlimited FREE admission to Morrill Hall, Trailside Museum of Natural History, and ˚ Invitations to our Annual Meeting, events, and exhibit openings Ashfall Fossil Beds (Note: Each visit to Ashfall Fossil Beds & Trailside requires a park ˚ Your name listed in Friends publications entry permit: $4 one-time / $20 annual.) ˚ Free or reduced admission and/or discounts at thousands of museums belonging ˚ Free subscription to The Mammoth, the Museum’s quarterly newsletter to the Association of Science- Technology Centers (ASTC) “Passport Program.” ˚ 10% discount on purchases from our gift shop Visit www.astc.org for a current list of participating institutions. ˚ 10% discount on Museum birthday parties ˚ In addition, many museums belonging to American Association of Museums (AAM) ˚ Discounted Planetarium admission (Adults $2.50, Children $2) offer discounts. Visit www.aam-us.org for a list of accredited museums.

friendsofthemuseum.org | (402) 472-3779 | [email protected] Friends of the University of Nebraska State Museum, 307 Morrill Hall, Lincoln, NE 68588-0357

22 T H E M A M M O T H Friends of the University of Nebraska State Museum MUELLER PLANETARIUM

Thanks to the generosity of the Friends of the The State Museum is teaming up with the State Museum, National Geographic’s Lincoln Children’s Museum, Lincoln Children’s Zoo, spectacular underwater adventure SEA MONSTERS Pioneers Park Nature Center, and the LUX Center for the Arts will be shown at Mueller Planetarium. this summer for a NEW day camp for youth ages 6-9. Be sure to “catch” it this summer! Register today for this hands-on learning adventure across Lincoln! JULY 25–29 Register at www.lincolnchildrensmuseum.org

Visit www.spacelaser.com for complete fulldome schedule & show previews

Discover even more reasons why the State Museum ROCKS! See our new selection of gems and minerals from around the world.

May 2011 23 Non Profit FRIENDS OF THE US Postage STATE MUSEUM PAID UNL Friends of the University of Nebraska State Museum 307 Morrill Hall PO Box 880357 Lincoln, NE 68588-0357

HELP US GO GREEN! If you would like to support the Museum and the environment by receiving this newsletter electronically, please send an e-mail with your name and e-mail address to [email protected] or phone (402) 472-3779.

The University of Nebraska–Lincoln is an equal opportunity educator and employer with a comprehensive plan for diversity. © 2011, The Board of Regents of the University of Nebraska. All rights reserved.