Snapshots in Time

NEW EXHIBIT OPENING! With Special Talk from Dr. Hans-Dieter Sues*

May 9, 2015    10:00 AM – 5:00 PM

This unique exhibit brings us a snapshot in time of Jurassic life 150 million years ago.

Directly across from the paleontology viewing lab, Snapshots in Time: The Unique Paleofauna of the Solnhofen Limestone showcases some of the worlds rarest Late Jurassic fossils discovered in the Solnhofen Limestone, of southern Germany.

No other locale has produced more iconic fossils from this time period than the Solnhofen Limestone. Rockford’s own Burpee Museum will display some of the most unique fossils from the Solnhofen, on loan from a private collection!

To enhance your experience at the exhibit’s grand opening, Dr. Hans-Dieter Sues, Senior Curator of Paleontology at the Smithsonian Institution: National Museum of Natural History, Washington, DC will be giving a special presentation at 2pm!

Ticket Info

Cost:
Members: FREE!

General Public:
Special Talk only from Dr. Hans-Dieter Sues: $5
Special Talk and New Exhibit Access: $10
Special Talk and Full Museum Access: $15

Jane: Do the tails tell the tale?

“Jane” Burpee Museum’s juvnile T. rex

One of the questions most often asked at Burpee Museum is “How do you know Jane was a girl?” You see “Jane” is the juvenile Tyrannosaurus rex discovered by field crews in 2001 and the star of the Museum’s Diary of a Dinosaur exhibit. “Jane” was named after Jane Solem, wife of Robert H. Solem, a major benefactor and lifetime member of the Museum.

Currently it is unknown if “Jane” the dinosaur was male or female. In fact, determining the sex of dinosaur specimens is a question that paleontologists have long been trying to find a method or skeletal indicator that would allow specimens to be defined as male or female.

Scott Persons, paleontologist at University of Alberta at Edmonton, Canada, has recently proposed a new idea that may allow the sex of some dinosaurs be determined. His most recent study, published in Scientific Reports, suggests that skeletal traits of some dinosaurs tails may show sexual dimorphism (a distinct morphological difference between males and females) and could be applied to other specimens.

Persons’ study examined two oviraptorosaurs, nicknamed Romeo and Juliet, that were found in Mongolia in the 1990’s and first described in 2001. Through this study differences in bones called chevrons at the base of the oviraptorosaurs tails were discovered. One specimen had longer chevrons with broader tips. Persons hypothesizes that males may have had longer chevrons with broader tips for increased muscle attachments, whereas chevrons in females may have been smaller to facilitate egg laying.

As Thomas Holtz, University of Maryland, has pointed out, it will be very interesting to see if these differences are borne out in further, larger studies of chevron shape of small to mid-sized dinosaurs.

Perhaps someday soon we will be able to confidently answer the question of ” Is “Jane” a boy or girl?”

To read more about Person’s study check out these resources:

Tails Tell the Tale of Dinosaur Sex, Nature News

Persons IV, W. S., Funston, G. F., Currie, P. J. & Norell, M. A. Sci. Rep. 5, 9472 (2015).

Five Reasons Why You NEED to Attend Burpee Museum’s PaleoFest 2015!

Josh Malone, long time PaleoFest alum and Burpee Museum volunteer, shares his thoughts on this year’s upcoming PaleoFest.

Many Strange Things

Anybody who knows me knows that I have a great love for the Burpee Museum of Natural History in Rockford, IL. The small museum is a great place to learn about natural history as well as present day wildlife, and so much more. It has exhibits that display a wealth of information, and really relays it all to the public in a very down to earth and enjoyable way. They also have a great paleo program, and offer volunteer opportunities to their digs in both Montana and Utah over the summer. I’ve gone on several digs with the Burpee, and over the years have built a really strong relationship with the wonderful team at the museum.

But above all, the number one event that has allowed me to build such a strong and lasting relationship with not only this museum, but other paleontologists around the world, is PaleoFest. For the past seventeen years, the…

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Meet Rexie the T-Rex at PaleoFest!

PaleoFest is great. PaleoFest symposiums are super great. PaleoFest where you can meet a T-Rex are unbelievably great!

Meet Rexie the T-Rex on Saturday, March 14th as part of PaleoFest 2015! Rexie the T-Rex is a gentle 8 foot tall, 12 foot long T. rex that walks on a leash guided by her handler. Rexie will be making appearances at 10:30am, 1pm, and 3pm at Burpee Museum, Saturday March 14th only! Check out the PaleoPassport stations throughout the museum or a kids workshop led by real paleontologists before or after you meet Rexie the T-Rex!

PaleoFest FAQs: Admission to PaleoFest is $15 for General Public, $7 for Burpee Members and includes general admission to the museum, admission to Savage Ancient Seas, PaleoPassport activities, and a chance to see Rexie the T. Rex; workshops, symposium, and Burpee Museum Presents require additional tickets or passes beyond PaleoFest Admission. Visit the PaleoFest site for more information.

Sci-Fi Fanatics, Trekkies, and Dinosaurs … Oh My!

Burpee Museum will be part of the Madison, Wisconsin Wizard World Comic Con this weekend! Scott Williams, Director of Science and Exhibits, and Mackenna Atteberry, Marketing Coordinator, will be manning exhibitors booth #624 – directly across from the 1966 Batmobile!

There are a TON of other things happening at Wizard World, but we’d love it if you’d stop by and say “Hi!” to the Burpee Museum crew. If you’re planning to stay closer to Rockford, we have an Animal Hour on February 6th and Burpee Explorers on February 7th. For other great events and activities check out Burpee Museum on Facebook and at www.Burpee.org.

Walking With Dinosaurs at Burpee Museum

Membership has its perks!

Burpee Museum will be showing BBC Earth’s Walking With Dinosaurs: Prehistoric Planet  on Friday March 13, 2015 during the PaleoFest Members Night. The Walking With Dinosaurs viewing will be accompanied by expert commentary from Drs. Stephen Brusatte and Thomas Holtz who were both consultants on the project.

Doors open for Members Night at 6pm, the Walking With Dinosaurs showing will begin at 7pm with questions and commentary following at 8pm. Members, call 815.965.3433 to RSVP by March 9th. Please bring your Membership Card and ID for check in.

Not a Member? Visit the Membership Page for details or call 815.965.3433 to join today! Membership to Burpee Museum includes membership to ASTC (Association of Science and Technology Centers) which provides free or reduced general admission to hundreds of Science Centers and Museums in the Untied States and around the world!

Have you registered for PaleoFest 2015 yet?

If you haven’t had a chance to register for PaleoFest 2015 use this fillable form and return it to Burpee Museum via mail or email! PaleoFestRegistration

Want to know more about PaleoFest 2015 before you buy your tickets? Check out the PaleoFest site!

Updated 01.26.2015: Replaced the fillable Word version of the PaleoFest Registration form with a PDF version.

Savage Ancient Seas is coming to Burpee

The past four weeks have been extra busy at Burpee Museum and for good reason! Burpee Museum was approached by Embedded Exhibitions, LLC to host their Savage Ancient Seas traveling exhibit. Savage Ancient Seas has been on Burpee’s shortlist of exhibits to bring to the Rockford area for several years, so naturally we went into high gear for fundraising and promotion.

Savage Ancient Seas is an exhibit that makes the North American seas of the Cretaceous come alive! The exhibit is full of marine reptiles that can fill your imagination with sea monsters and sea creatures and bring to life prehistoric fossils of animals that swam the seas as the dinosaurs ruled the Earth.

Burpee Museum is extremely excited to announce that Savage Ancient Seas will open to the public on January 17, 2015 at 10am! Tickets to Savage Ancient Seas (including General Admission) are $13 for visitors 13 & up, and $12 for visitors 3-12. Come out to Burpee Museum to help welcome this amazing exhibit to Rockford!

Check out the Burpee Museum site for more information!

Burpee Museum Presents: Hans-Dieter Sues

Dr. Hans-Dieter Sues

The keynote address for PaleoFest 2015 will be given by Dr. Hans-Dieter Sues, Curator of Vertebrate Paleontology at the National Museum of Natural History of the Smithsonian Institution. This keynote address will be part of Burpee Museum Presents fundraiser held at Cliffbreakers Riverside Resort on March 14, 2015. Dr. Sues’ address, titled “The Triassic Period – The Dawn of the Modern World,” will highlight the importance of Triassic period research and the incredible changes that came about in the fauna of that era.

Tickets to Burpee Museum Presents include dinner and keynote address at Cliffbreakers Riverside Resort in Rockford, Illinois. Doors open at 5:30pm, dinner will be served at 6:30pm, and the keynote address will begin at 7:00pm. A cash bar will be available.

For more information check out the Burpee Museum Presents: Hans-Dieter Sues at PaleoFest page.

To order tickets please call Burpee Museum at 815-965-3433.

Introducing Abyssomedon williamsi

Elements of the newly described Abyssomedon williamsi from the early Permian of Oklahoma.

Abyssomedon williamsi is a new parareptile from the Richards Spur Locality in Oklahoma reported by Mark MacDougall and Robert Reisz from University of Toronto, Mississauga in the Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society.

Parareptiles are a sister taxon to Eureptiles, or “true reptiles,” and have traditionally included the anapsids. These species are generally very primitive. There is an unusually high number of Early Permian parareptile fossils found at the Richards Spur Locality in Oklahoma. A. williamsi is just the newest species described from the locality.

A. williamsi is an important new species. A. williamsi belongs to a clade of Parareptiles called nyctiphruretids, This clade is normally found in mid-to late Permian deposits in Russia. The discovery of A. williamsi in Oklahoma in early Permian deposits extends both the clade’s temporal and geographic range.

On a more personal note, A. wiliamsi has a very close tie with Burpee Museum; A. williamsi is named for Burpee Museum’s very own Scott Williams! Scott has collected in the Richards Spur Locality and has frequently collaborated with Dr. Robert Reisz on Permian projects that are part of the Museum’s permanent collection. In the paleontology world, to have a fossil species named after you is quite an honor. We hope you’ll join us as we congratulate the authors and Scott on this great new Parareptile species!