dinosaurs

Prehistoric reptiles

Spring 2017 Gem Show Photos

The Spring 2017 Gem and Mineral Show was very successful. The parking lot was filled to capacity and we made over $3000 for the scholarship fund. I think it helped that it was so cold on Saturday, because people wanted to do something indoors. Here are some of the highlights.

My favorite exhibit: The Earth’s Rainbow by Maple Woods Community College. It shows minerals of every color and how they get their colors. Photo by Stephanie Reed

Geological features of Missouri made out of minerals by Susan Judy (Stone Quilt Design) Unfortunately, it was already sold when I saw it. Photo by Stephanie Reed

Mr. Bones was wondering what was so interesting on this person’s phone. Photo by Stephanie Reed

David and Stephanie Reed showing off the new Association banner. Photo by Bob

Cretaceous fossils from Kansas, displayed by KU. The iridescent baculite is especially nice. Photo by Stephanie Reed

Selenite crystal from Kansas. I sold it at the Association Booth. Photo by Stephanie Reed

Shea Oak slab in UMKC’s petrified wood exhibit. This specimen usually lives at the Sutton Museum at UMKC. Photo by Stephanie Reed

A blue morpho butterfly seen at Butterflies by God. Photo by Stephanie Reed

The Bead Society had a lot of great cases. Photo by Stephanie Reed

Keshi pearls (i.e. non-nucleated pearls) from Avian Oasis. Photo by Stephanie Reed

Jeanna and Jim in foreground, Chet and Bob in background. Photo by Stephanie Reed

Agatized Dinosaur bone from the Morrison Formation in Utah, seen at Science Leads the Way. We met the person who found it. Photo by Stephanie Reed

Australian Boulder Opal cabs from Dreaming Down Under. Photo by Stephanie Reed

This otherworldly glass sculpture was at Madagascar Gemstones. Photo by Stephanie Reed

Spring 2017 Lectures

Lectures presented by the Association of Earth Science Clubs of Greater Kansas City

Friday, March 10, 2017

3:00 p.m. “Opal Down Under”, Ron Wooly, Owner of Dreaming Down Under

Saturday, March 11, 2017

1:00 p.m. “Earth Science… Facts, Frauds and Scams”, Mark Sherwood, Independence Gem and Mineral Society

2:00 p.m. “The Life and Hard Times of the KU T. rex”, Dr. David Burnham, Research Associate, University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas

3:00 p.m. “Medullary bone in Tyrannosaurs: a question of chickens, eggs and possibly more”, Dr. Josh Schmerge, University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas

4:00 p.m. “History of Gold Mining”, Doug Foster, Show-Me Gold, Missouri

Sunday, March 12, 2017

2:00 p.m. “The Life and Hard Times of the KU T-rex”, Dr. David Burnham, Research Associate, University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas

3:00 p.m. “Islands in the sun: Eocene fossil mammals from Turkey”, Dr. Chris Beard, University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas

Door Prizes

When you come to the show, don’t forget to enter the drawings for door prizes.

Kids’ Drawing:

Dinosaur Model with Real Tooth

Cactus Quartz

(more…)

Special Exhibits 2017

KANSAS CITY GEM SHOW SPRING 2017 FEATURE EXHIBIT

ROCK ART –Stone Quilt Design; Susan Judy; Denver, CO and WKP Accent Tables; Bill Peterson; Boulder, CO
Colorado artists Judy and Bill have brought some of their creations to the Kansas City Show. Judy inlays natural materials in a stone mosaic to create pictures and Bill uses natural materials to create tables.

INVITATIONAL EXHIBITS (more…)

Collagen Found in Dinosaur Bones

Robert Reisz, https://cen.acs.org/articles/95/i6/Collagen-found-195-million-year.html

Paleontologists at the University of Toronto just found collagen in a 195 million year old fossil. This makes it the oldest protein that has ever been found. Previously, the oldest protein sample was only 80 million years old (it was also collagen, from a dinosaur bone). They also found hematite crystals in the fossil, which possibly came from the blood. The dinosaur was a Lufengosaurus that lived in Yunnan Province, China.

Some other paleontologists didn’t like the new, non-invasive methods that the team used used to identify the collagen, but other scientists thought the methods were fine. Read the whole article here https://cen.acs.org/articles/95/i6/Collagen-found-195-million-year.html and let me know what you think.

Dino Soiree at Powell Gardens

dinosaur in beautiful flower garden with people looking

Photo from: http://www.examiner.com/article/jurassic-garden-may1-through-august-14-at-powell-gardens

When: 6:30-8:30 p.m. Friday, June 17 (21 and older)

Enjoy drinks and light bites while you view a fascinating collection of fossils and hear from renowned University of Kansas Paleontologist Dr. David Burnham about the unique and ferocious Dakotaraptor. Prepaid reservations of $30/person or $25/member required. You can make those reservations at https://www.powellgardens.org/dino-soiree or by calling 816-697-2600 x209.

Guests will get one drink ticket, which can be exchanged for wine, beer or a non-alcoholic beverage at the bar. Additional drinks will be available for purchase.

Come early if you would like to take a self-guided tour of Jurassic Garden: A Prehistoric Adventure! If you cannot make the paleontology lecture, there are some other events at the Jurassic Garden: Dining with the Dinos on June 24 (reservations for BBQ dinner with dinos) and Dino Night July 22 (reservations for Dino Night). The Jurassic Garden will be available until August 14, 2016.

Spring 2016 Show Photos

I took way too many photos at the show and most of them were interesting, making it difficult to write this post. Without further ado, here are the highlights from the Spring 2016 Gem and Mineral Show.

The Association Booth was staffed by club members from Show-Me Rockhounds, IGAMS, and more. Photo by Stephanie Reed

A smiling young woman sitting behind a large wooden spinner with eight sections. She is wearing an ammonite necklace and a shirt proclaiming that the Kansas City Gem and Mineral Show "finally struck gold" and is 50 years old.

The popular prize wheel returned again. It’s only 50 cents to spin and receive one of 8 different prizes. Everyone’s a winner! Photo by David Reed

The Geode Gallery (Davenport, IA) cracked a lot of geodes. You can have a geode opened whether you buy it from them or bring your own. Photo by Stephanie Reed

Look behind you, it’s a dinosaur attack! No, it’s Mr. Bones! From Louisville, CO, Mr. Bones has returned for more dinosaur fun. Photo by Stephanie Reed

Scientist mounting specimen museum science city dino lab

A representative from the Dino Lab in Science City at Union Station. She is cleaning a specimen to be mounted. Photo by Stephanie Reed

Mark Sherwood is helping these people identify something. It’s a free service from the Friends of Mineralogy, The Association, and IGAMS. Photo by Stephanie Reed

geology archaeology volcano crystal science kits toys

Science kits for kids (of all ages). Photo by Stephanie Reed

Ever wanted to try flume mining? Get a Nugget Bucket from McDe’s River Gems (Topeka, KS). Photo by Stephanie Reed

Each club in the Association can submit cases to show off things they have done, created, collected, etc. This case is from the Sterling Guild, a club for crafting with silver. Photo by Stephanie Reed

A display of fluorite octahedrons of many different colors and sizes.

Bruce Stinemetz’s fluorite octahedron collection. Photo by Stephanie Reed

A stunning assortment of gem trees from Accessory Minerals (DeSoto, KS). Photo by Stephanie Reed

Jeanne’s Rock and Jewelry (Bellaire, TX) was selling stands and cases for your specimens. Displaying is an important part of collecting, which is often overlooked. Photo by Stephanie Reed

What color were the dinosaurs?

Johan Lindgren/Sci. Rep.

In this article from Chemical & Engineering News, researchers use chemistry to find out what colors the dinosaurs were.

Researchers led by Johan Lindgren of Lund University, in Sweden, used a battery of analytical techniques to scrutinize the molecular makeup of a fossilized Anchiornis huxleyi specimen. This dinosaur is a distant relative of today’s birds, and its remnants were preserved for about 150 million years in what is now northeastern China.

The researchers’ thorough analyses have allowed them to conclude that some of the dinosaur’s melanin, or pigment molecules, and melanin-producing organelles have also survived the intervening epochs (Sci. Rep. 2015, DOI: 10.1038/srep13520).

Scientists have previously observed signs of similar biomaterials in fossils, but studies have lacked sufficient evidence to rule out the idea that these materials come from bacteria or other microbial intruders.

Using methods including infrared spectroscopy and time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry, Lindgren and his colleagues have shown that the sample’s fossilized feathers contain substances that closely resemble modern animal—not bacterial—eumelanin, the pigments responsible for brown and black coloration.

Click here to read the whole article.

Missouri’s State Dinosaur

An orange dinosaur crouches low over its nest of eggs.

Photo by Serrator, https://www.flickr.com/photos/serrator/2333116195

Hypsibema missouriense is a type of dinosaur called a Hadrosaur or “duck-billed” dinosaur. It was a herbivore with jaws that contained over 1,000 teeth. Hypsibema had evolved specialized teeth to handle the tough, fibrous vegetation of the time. This dinosaur lived in Missouri during the Late Cretaceous Period. Hypsibema was first discovered in 1942 by Dan Stewart, near the town of Glen Allen, MO, and became the state’s official dinosaur on July 9, 2004 (RsMo 10.095) A reconstruction of Missouri’s State Dinosaur can be seen at the Bollinger Museum of Natural History in Marble Hill, MO. Source: Secretary of State webpage, http://sos.mo.gov/symbols/symbols.asp?symbol=dino

Show-Me Rockhounds Kansas City

A club for people in Kansas City, MO who enjoy collecting rocks, minerals, fossils, gems, and crystals