Birmingham Paleontological Society

The Alabama Museum of Natural History hosts an annual National Fossil Day event in the Grand Gallery.  BPS set up an exhibit table, as did numerous groups from around the area.  This year, BPS highlighted photos of the dinosaur dig for the newly named species of hadrosaurid (duck billed dinosaur), Eotrachodon orientalis.

The BPS August field trip was to the UA museum archives in Tuscaloosa, where we were treated to a behind the scenes look at the collections.  Many items are from the 1800's or early 1900's, so their preservation is remarkable.  The collections include not only items from Alabama, but from many other states, and around the world.
 

Our speaker for Monday, October 3rd will be Dr. David Kopaska-Merkel, geologist at the Geological Survey of Alabama in Tuscaloosa.   The title of his presentation is "Stalking Chesterian Monsters."  The business meeting will be from 7:00 to 7:30; the public program is from 7:30-8:30. 

Though he will not be speaking on the topic, Dr. Kopaska-Merkel is one of the authors of the new edition of "Footprints in Stone: Fossil Traces of Coal-Age Tetrapods" textbook.

The Alabama Museum of Natural History will be hosting the fourth annual National Fossil Day event in the Grand Gallery on Wednesday, October 12 from 4:00-6:00 PM.

National Fossil Day is a celebration to promote public awareness and stewardship of fossils, as well as foster a greater appreciation of their scientific and educational values. Past events have included fossil displays, fossil identification, games and activities, and an opportunity to interact with the community. The event is free and open to the public and has seen great success in past years.

This hands-on Fossils of the Black Belt teacher workshop is a fun way to get CEU credits.  It will be held Tuesday, October 18, 2016 near Selma.  Details regarding location will be sent to each participant.  The workshop will run from 8:30 9:00am until 4:30 pm.

The University of West Alabama’s Black Belt Museum has launched its new window exhibit series in downtown Livingston.  The first exhibit is titled "The Secrets of the Black Belt".  The exhibit opening is Thursday, September 15th at 6:00 PM on Franklin Street.

Our speaker for September will be Dr. Brian Axsmith of the University of South Alabama. The title of his presentation is "Triassic Park – the amazing animals and plants from the Solite Quarry in Virginia." Business meeting: 7:00 to 7:30; Public Program: 7:30-8:30. HOMEWOOD Public Library, Room 116. Free and open to the public.

Our speaker for August will be Dr. Ken Marion, Emeritus Professor of Biology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. The title of his presentation is “All About Snakes.” Business meeting: 7:00 to 7:30; Public Program: 7:30-8:30. HOMEWOOD Public Library, Room 116. Free and open to the public.

Our speaker for July will be Richard Carroll who is with the Geological Survey of Alabama on the UA campus. He will speak on “Fossil Pollen and Alabama Honey.” Business meeting: 7:00 to 7:30 pm; Public Program: 7:30-8:30 pm. Hoover Public Library, Lower Level. Free and open to the public.