Life in the Past Lane
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NEWS FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA STATE MUSEUM NOVEMBER theMammoth 2010 Life in the Past Lane Celebrating 50 years of Nebraska’s Highway Paleontology Program The University of Nebraska State The exhibit, “Highway Paleontology: Museum and the Nebraska Department of Life in the Past Lane,” highlights spectacular Roads are celebrating 50 years of life in the fossil fi nds salvaged since 1960 through the HIGHLIGHTS past lane. A special exhibit opened at Morrill program. Read more about the exhibit, the Hall on September 30 to celebrate the program, and the Friends reception that IN THIS ISSUE 50th anniversary of the Nebraska Highway was held to commemorate the milestone on Paleontology Program, a collaborative effort pages 18-19. Beetle Mania betweenbetween thethe statestate agencies.agencies. Sunday with a Scientist ....................8-9 NaturePalooza Nebraska ...............12-13 Astronaut Clayton Anderson ...............14 Returns to Morrill Hall Parasitology Researchers...............16-17 Continue Mongolian Expedition Highway Paleontology ...................18-19 Program 50th Anniversary Ashfall Fossil Beds Hosts...............20-21 ExplorOlogy Youth Program & MORE! Read The Mammoth Online! www.friendsofthemuseum.org ABOVE:ABOVE: UniversityUniniversity ooff NNebraskaebraska SStatetate MMuseumuseum HigHighwayhwhway PPaleontologistsaleontolooggists SShanehane TucTuckerkeker anandd BBruceruce BBaileyailey remremoveove a fi eld jacket as construction is completed on the Gering SouthSouth proprojectject iinn 11999.9999. ((PhotoPhoto by CraigCraig Lind,LiLindd, NDONDOR)R) INSET:INSET: ShaneShaane TuTuckercker removesremoves sedimentsediment fromfrom a rare three-hornedthree-h “deer” skull in 2005. MORRILL FRIENDS UNIVERSITY OF BOARD OF DIRECTORS NEBRASKA HALL Mark A. Brohman, President STATE MUSEUM STAFF David Rowe, Vice President EX-OFFICIO CALENDAR Director: Priscilla C. Grew Mel Thornton, Treasurer Priscilla C. Grew Associate Director: Mark Harris AT A GLANCE Diane Pratt, Secretary Mike Madcharo Informal Science Education: Judy Diamond, Curator Karen Amen ADVISORY COUNCIL Amy Spiegel NOVEMBER Marcia Hollestelle Judy Diamond Michael Leite Connie Pejsar Education Coordinator: Kathy French November 21 Curtis Mann Norm Smith Museum Associates: Ann Cusick 1:30-4:30 p.m. Lois Mayo Mike Zeleny Carrie Ford Sunday with a Scientist Keely Rennie-Tucker Cindy Loope “Ancient People & Their Killer Lynn Sobotka ASHFALL CHAPTER Ina Van der Veen Beans” Diann Sorensen Mark Brogie, Mark Sorensen President Research Partnerships Coordinator: Brett Ratcliffe Scientifi c Illustrator: Angie Fox DECEMBER Research Collections Staff Secretary: Gail Littrell CONTACT INFORMATION December 19 Anthropology: Alan Osborn, Curator 1:30-4:30 p.m. Director’s Offi ce (402) 472-3779 NAGPRA/Collections Assistant: Susan Curtis Sunday with a Scientist Museum Information Line (402) 472-2642 Nebraska Archaeological Survey: Alan Osborn “Nebraska Amphibians & Turtles” School Program Reservations (402) 472-6302 Friends Offi ce (402) 472-3779 Botany: Robert Kaul, Curator Mueller Planetarium (402) 472-2641 Collection Manager: Thomas Labedz JANUARY Nebraska Hall Offi ce (402) 472-2643 Collections Assistant: Linda Rader Ashfall Fossil Beds (402) 893-2000 January 7 Trailside Museum (308) 665-2929 Entomology: Brett Ratcliffe, Curator 5:00-8:30 p.m. Collection Manager: M.J. Paulsen University of Nebraska State Museum 140th Anniversary www.museum.unl.edu Geology: Samuel Treves, Curator Kick-off Celebration with Museum Geological Specialist: Karl Baumgarten National Geographic Photographer Joel Sartore Invertebrate Paleontology: Roger Pabian, Curator Hosted by the Friends of the State Museum & the University of Nebraska Foundation CONNECT WITH US ON FACEBOOK! Parasitology: Scott Gardner, Curator Collection Manager: Gabor Racz *RSVP required by Dec. 23. Invitations will be mailed to current MORRILL HALL Vertebrate Paleontology: Ross Secord, Curator Friends members soon. Collection Manager: R. George Corner South of 14th and Vine Streets (402) 472-2642 Preparators: Gregory Brown January 16 University of Nebraska Robert Skolnick 1:30-4:30 p.m. Lincoln, Nebraska Ellen Stepleton Sunday with a Scientist Highway Salvage Paleontologist: Shane Tucker ‘Yellowstone Volcanic Hotspot” Open Year Around Highway Salvage Preparator: Nicholas Famoso Monday-Saturday: 9:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. Thursdays: 9:30 a.m. - 8 p.m. (Open Late!) Zoology: Patricia Freeman, Curator FEBRUARY Sundays: 1:30 p.m. - 4:30 p.m. Collection Manager: Thomas Labedz Closed Easter, Independence Day, Thanksgiving, Affi liated Courtesy, Adjunct, and Emeritus Faculty: February 5 December 24-25, and January 1 Anthropology: Thomas Myers 9:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Planetarium Closed Mondays and NU home football game Saturdays Entomology: Mary Liz Jameson Dinosaurs & Disasters Day! Geology: Robert Diffendal Invertebrate Paleontology: David Watkins February 20 ASHFALL FOSSIL BEDS Parasitology: John Janovy, Mary Lou Pritchard Vertebrate Paleontology: Michael Voorhies, 1:30-4:30 p.m. 86930 517 Avenue (402) 893-2000 Sunday with a Scientist Robert Hunt, Jr. Royal, NE 68773 Zoology: Hugh Genoways, Paul Johnsgard “Parasitology” Located seven miles north of Highway 20 between Royal and Orchard, Nebraska. Ashfall Fossil Beds Superintendent: Rick Otto Museum Specialist: Sandy Mosel MARCH Open Seasonally. For schedule, visit ashfall.unl.edu Trailside Museum Staff Assistants: Susan Veskerna March 20 Pattie Norman 1:30-4:30 p.m. TRAILSIDE MUSEUM Accounting Clerk: Judy Ray Sunday with a Scientist Discovery Shop Manager: Leah Carpenter “Lasers & Photonics” PO Box 462 (308) 665-2929 Exhibit Design Specialist: Ron Pike Crawford, NE 69339 Graphics Design Specialist: Joel Nielsen Located on Highway 20 at Fort Robinson, Nebraska. Mueller Planetarium Supervisor: Jack Dunn museum.unl.edu Public Service Associate: Linda Beran for more event details! Open Seasonally. Public Relations Coordinator, Friends Liaison, & For schedule, visit trailside.unl.edu Mammoth Newsletter Editor: Dana Ludvik 2 T H E M A M M O T H Friends of the University of Nebraska State Museum FROM THE DIRECTOR Jimmy Stewart was always my father’s favorite actor—my father was Princeton Class of 1929, and Stewart was right behind him in Class of ’32. There is a quote attributed to Jimmy Stewart that is particularly appropriate to life today in our State Museum: “Never treat your audience as customers, always as partners.” Partnerships are fl ourishing all around us in Morrill Hall – Lincoln Public Schools bringing all the city’s third- and fi fth-graders here for standards-based science programming; the Nebraska Department of Roads celebrating 50 years of partnership in recovering 200,000 fossils from road construction sites to be curated in the Museum for future scientists to study; our visitors who are our partners in learning –they learn from our exhibits and programs, as we learn from them about what works best to enhance lifelong learning in a natural history museum. Furthermore, almost all our large federal research grants involve partnerships of our curators and staff with scholars at other institutions both in the U.S. and internationally. Artist Missi Paul was one of those who partnered with us in presenting the Miss Mie Friendship Doll exhibit this year. When the delegation from Mie Prefecture in Japan fi rst visited Artist Missi Paul with her painting in the Miss Mie exhibit (Photo by P. Grew) UNL back in September 2008, Vice Chancellor for Research and Economic Development, Prem Paul, and his wife Missi helped host a lovely dinner to welcome our visitors. A member of the delegation gave Missi a miniature doll pin as a souvenir, handmade from antique kimono silk. The little pin served as the inspiration for a wonderful painting by Missi, and when we were preparing for the Miss Mie exhibit this year, Missi kindly agreed to loan us her painting to enhance the show. We partnered with the Lincoln Downtown Rotary Club #14 on their community benefi t fundraiser in October. A gentleman in Lincoln agreed this past summer to sell me one of the original “Archie” mammoth sculptures by Nebraska artist Fred Hoppe that had been sold by the Friends of the State Museum back in the 1990s to raise funds for the installation of the life-size “Archie” who stands in front of Morrill Hall. Rotary gave us wonderful publicity for the Museum by advertising “Archie” as one of their live auction items both at their meetings and in the auction program at Lincoln Station. I was thrilled that the winning bid was submitted by Art Zygielbaum – both Art and Chris Zygielbaum are Friends of the State Museum. Art is affi liated with the UNL School of Natural Resources (SNR), and Chris is Past President of the UNL Faculty Women’s Club. Priscilla Grew congratulates Art Zygielbaum on his winning bid for “Archie” at the Rotary Auction on October 8 Kathy French, Museum Education Coordinator, put (Photo by Mailani Veney.) together a fantastic series of partnerships this year when she created the Museum’s popular new Sunday with a Scientist program. She has brought brand new programming to the Textile Society of America’s national symposium in Lincoln. Museum visitors on the third Sunday of each month – with Kathy French and Nancy Childs, visual art curriculum specialist for these partnerships we can extend learning even beyond the Lincoln Public Schools, partnered in the educational outreach for scope of our Museum research collections. In October, Kathy this exhibit. organized the fi rst “NaturePalooza Nebraska” with student Just