Family Fun at the Museum of the Rockies

BOZEMAN — A new family-friendly program celebrating the science of paleontology will be available at the Museum of the Rockies beginning Saturday, April 2.

“Dinosaurs and MOR!” will feature lectures from world-class paleontologists, paleo passport activity stations in the Siebel Dinosaur Complex, drawing lessons with an expert paleo artist, and a dinner with John Scannella, the museum’s John R. Horner Curator of Paleontology.

Ten experts from across the country will deliver 30-minute presentations, followed by a Q&A session, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the Hager Auditorium. Presenters include:

• Dave Varricchio, professor of Earth sciences at Montana State University.
• Holly Woodward Ballard, associate professor of anatomy and paleontology at the Oklahoma State University Center for Health Sciences.
• Nathan Carroll, curator of paleontology of the Carter County Museum.
• Karen Chin, professor and curator of paleontology at the University of Colorado Boulder.
• Liz Freedman Fowler, assistant professor of biological and Earth sciences at Dickinson State University and the research associate at the Dickinson Museum Center and Badlands Dinosaur Museum.
• Gregory P. Wilson Mantilla, professor of biology at the University of Washington and curator of paleontology at the Burke Museum.
• Kallie Moore, collections manager of the University of Montana Paleontology Center.
• Mary Schweitzer, professor of biological sciences at North Carolina State University.
• Eric Scott, principal paleontologist of Cogstone Resource Management Inc. and adjunct professor at California State University San Bernardino.
• Cary Woodruff, director of paleontology of the Great Plains Dinosaur Museum.

The lecture series is $20 for youth museum members and MSU students, $40 for adult members and seniors, $30 for non-member youths and $60 for non-member adults. It includes access to the main museum and planetarium. Registration is required.

Attendees can obtain paleo passports at the front desk and get stamps at numerous family-friendly stations through the Siebel Dinosaur Complex. Stations will be open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The Taylor Planetarium will host a viewing of “Dinosaur Prophesy,” where attendees can solve four cold cases from the age of dinosaurs. The passport is included with museum admission, which ranges from $10.50 to $16.50.

Expert paleo artist Ted Rechlin will hold classes about how to draw dinosaurs at 10:30 a.m., 12:30 p.m. and 2:30 p.m. Rechlin is the author and illustrator of graphic novels, including “Jurassic,” which won the silver medal for graphic novel of the year from Foreword Reviews. Classes are $10 to $15 per person and registration is required.

The day will conclude with a dinner in the museum’s Bair Lobby celebrating the inaugural “Dinosaurs and MOR!” event. Scannella will deliver a keynote speech. “MOR than Monsters: Unearthing the Paleobiology of Dinosaurs” will inform guests about past, present and future explorations of the lives of dinosaurs. The dinner is $65 to $95 per person and will be held from 6:15 to 9 p.m. Registration is required.

On April 1 from 5 to 7:30 p.m. museum members will have a sneak preview of the “Dinosaurs and MOR!” event. Members will experience paleo-passport and history activity stations throughout the museum. “Dinosaur Prophesy” will be shown in the Taylor Planetarium at 5:30 and 6:30 p.m. MOR Executive Director Christopher Dobb and Scannella will deliver a special address to the members at 6:15 and 7:15 p.m.

To learn more and register for “Dinosaur and MOR!” events visit museumoftherockies.org/dinos.

-by MSU News Service -