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

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.

Be There or Be Square: PaleoFest 2015

“Eoraptor” (C) Csotonyi

Add it to your calendars now, PaleoFest 2015 will be held March 14 & 15, 2015!

Tickets go on sale Monday, December 1, 2014.

The upcoming PaleoFest will be hosted in partnership with the Smithsonian Institution and will once again feature an international symposium. The symposium, titled “The Beginning of Dinosaurs and the Origins of the Modern World,” will feature two dozen researchers who’s primary focus is the flora and fauna of the late Triassic and early Jurassic periods.

The PaleoFest Dinner has been transformed into “Burpee Museum Presents: Hans-Dieter Sues at PaleoFest” and will be hosted by Cliffbreakers Resort, the host hotel. Dr. Sues is the Senior Scientist and Curator of Vertebrate Paleontology at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. and is also the co-convener of the symposium.

In addition to the symposium events, Burpee Museum will also be hosting Triassic and Jurassic period themed PaleoPassport Stations, a Family Workshop about fossil tracks, and two Children’s Workshops. This year the Children’s Workshops will be: “Tooth Tales” where kids can learn about dinosaur teeth and jaws with Dr. Matthew Bonnan, Stockton College, recommended for kids 5-9 years old. Older aspiring paleontologists can work with Dr. Thomas Holtz, University of Maryland, on “T. Rex: Bones and Beyond” and learn how fossils help us learn about dinosaur behavior and classification, recommended for kids 10-14.

If you’re interested in attending PaleoFest visit Burpee Museum’s PaleoFest webpage for more details. We can’t wait to see you!

Burpee’s Newest Treasure

(C) Dr. Julius Csotonyi

In the summer of 2013, Burpee Museum’s field crews discovered a rare dinosaur while on expedition in Montana. This dinosaur, nicknamed Pearl, was found by Highland Community College Professor Steve Simpson and students while prospecting for new sites. When Pearl was discovered, she was part of an undescribed species of North American Caenagnathid Oviraptorosaur. The Burpee field crews were fortunate in the timing of the discovery, accompanying them in the field at that time were paleontologists Thomas Holtz, Jack Horner, Mark Goodwin, and Tyler Lyson. With their help, the Burpee field crew realized that this new find was exceptionally rare and very exciting.

Other specimens of this same undescribed species had already been found by the Carnegie Museum and the Marmarth Research Foundation, and a team of researchers was working on a description of the new species. On March 19, 2014 paleontologists Matt Lamanna, Hans-Dieter Sues, Emma Schachner, and Tyler Lyson published their description of a new North American Caenagnathid Oviraptorosaur named Anzu wyliei. Their description, “A New Large-Bodied Oviraptorosaurian Theropod Dinosaur from the Latest Cretaceous of North America” was published in the open access journal PLOSOne. Pearl would have been a feathered dinosaur, 3.5m (11.5ft) long, 1.5m (5ft) tall at the hip and weighing in at about 200-300kg (440-660lbs).  These dinosaurs are edentolous, meaning that they did not have any teeth; despite this it has been suggested that they were omnivorous and ate both smaller animals and plants.

Pearl will add to the understanding of this new species because she can fill in some of the missing skeletal elements that the holotype and referred specimens don’t have – particularly feet and toes. Keep checking in at No Stone Unturned for the most up-to-date information about Pearl and all of Burpee Museum’s other endeavors!