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Author: Tom

22nd Fossil Fair at Swan Lake Nature House

The Victoria Palaeontology Society will hold its 22nd Fossil Fair on March 24-25, 2018, 10 am to 3 pm in the Nature House at the Swan Lake Christmas Hill Nature Sanctuary, 3873 Swan Lake Road in Victoria. Admission is by donation.

PLACE: Swan Lake Christmas Hill Nature Sanctuary 3873 Swan Lake Road, Victoria
DATE: Saturday & Sunday, March 24 & 25, 2018
TIME: 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
COST: Admission by Donation
CONTACT: Tom Cockburn (Victoria Palaeontology Society) 250-652- 4267
Renee Cenerini (Swan Lake Christmas Hill Nature Sanctuary) 250-479- 0211

The Fossil Fair will display a rich and diverse variety of ancient fossil animals and plants from the Cambrian (550 million years ago) to the end of the last Ice Age (10,000 years ago). Fossils will be displayed from Vancouver Island, other parts of British Columbia and other areas. The fossils include dinosaur bones, ammonites, trilobites, corals, mollusks, insects, giant palm leaves and microscopic fossils.

The display cases and story boards from the VicPS Educational Kit which is used by the society in presentations to school groups, youth camps and other organizations will also be displayed. This will be of interest to school teachers and other educators.

The Fossil Fair is an educational experience for all age groups. The public is invited to bring in fossils for identification. Specific activities for children include a fossil scavenger hunt with prizes, fossil colouring, rubbings stampings, and looking through microscopes.

The Victoria Palaeontology Society cooperates with professional palaeontologists undertaking research on fossils collected by Society members. Information will be provided on some of the scientific contributions made by members, including the discovery and naming of new species. All scientifically important fossils are donated to the Royal British Columbia Museum.

Marji Johns at Victoria Natural History Society – Jan 9

VicPS member Marji Johns, Paleontology Collections Manager and Researcher at the RBCM, is presenting Jan 9 to the Victoria Natural History Society at 7:30 pm, Room 159,  Fraser Building, University of Victoria.

From the VNHS calendar:

Natural History Night: From Cliff to Cabinet

January 9, 2018 @ 7:30 pm – 9:30 pm
Fraser Building, University of Victoria

From Cliff to Cabinet:Securing 18,000—52 Million Year Old Fossil Matrices for Research, Exhibition,and Learning

 The McAbee Fossil Beds Heritage Site near Cache Creek, B.C. contains exceptional fossilsvital for scientific research, education and viewing. The significance of thesite was initially recognized by researchers, and later, Dave Langevin and JohnLeahy managed the site under mineral tenure, making important fossilcollections before its Heritage Site designation in July 2012. This fall(2017), the Leahy family donated the fossils collected by John to the RoyalB.C. Museum. Today, Marji Johns introduces you to the fossil site, some of the fossils and theirsignificance, and initial plans for this new collection at the Museum. Marjireceived her M.Sc. from the University of Victoria and has worked for 39 yearsin paleontology and geoscience. She is currently Paleontology CollectionsManager and Researcher at the Royal BC Museum. Kjerstin Mackie, TextileConservator, Royal BC Museum, and Elisabeth Deom, Senior Stewardship Officer,Heritage Branch, B.C. Ministry of Forests, Lands & Natural ResourceOperations contributed to this presentation. We meet at 7:30 in Room 159,Fraser Building, University of Victoria. Everyone is welcome. Note: UVic parking is $3.

Nat Geo Live – Nizar Ibrahim: Spinosaurus, Lost Giant of the Cretaceous

Not a VicPS event, but this may be of interest to anyone keen on palaeontology.

At the Royal Theatre, May 2, 2018, 7 pm, with tickets starting at $42.50. Ticket sales started on September 11. From the event page here:

Nizar Ibrahim, Paleontologist

Spinosaurus: Lost Giant of the Cretaceous

Meet Spinosaurus, the largest predatory dinosaur yet discovered—larger than T.rex—and hear the incredible story of how this prehistoric giant was almost lost to science, before being brought back to light with the help of a remarkable young paleontologist.

Discovered more than half a century ago in Morocco by the great German paleontologist Ernst Stromer, Spinosaurus’ fossil remains were lost in the Allied bombing of Germany during World War II. With the help of recent fossil discoveries in the desert, and Stromer’s own data and drawings, contemporary scientists including German/Moroccan paleontologist and National Geographic Emerging Explorer Nizar Ibrahim have reconstructed a full skeletal model of Spinosaurus, which has been featured on the National Geographic Channel and presented in the National Geographic Museum.

With amazing video recreating the lost world of the Cretaceous-era Sahara, Ibrahim will tell the story of Spinosaurus’ discovery, loss, and rediscovery, and explain what—other than its size—makes this ancient monster unique.

October 22 2017 field trip

Date:  Sunday, October 22nd, 2017

Meeting Location and Time:  Helmcken Road Park and Ride; 09:00 AM.

Safety and Equipment: This is the site of a former excavation, so you should expect to be walking on rocks and boulders that can be slippery and treacherous.

Equipment: Fossils are found in the rock and concretions, so a good hammer or sledge, chisel, and protective eyewear are required.

Please see the email to Society members for a good description of the location and what you may expect to find.

Sep 23 Field Trip

Date:  Saturday, Sep 23

Meeting Location and Time:  Helmcken Road Park and Ride; 08:00 AM)  Arrange car-pooling.

Safety and Equipment: 

  • Safety:This is a quarry site that has been converted into a motocross track. Awareness of motorbikes operating nearby is essential.
  • Equipment: Fossils are found in the rock and concretions. A good hammer, chisel, and protective eyewear are required.

Members may refer to the email from Tom Cockburn regarding the Sep 20 monthly meeting for more details.

VicPS Meeting Sep 20 7:30 pm

Sep 20, 7:30 pm, Room A120, Cornett Building, UVic.

Welcome back from the summer to all member and guests. There will be no speaker at this meeting, so plenty of time to talk up and show off your summer collecting finds.

VicPS Annual Memberships expired on Dec. 31, 2016. New and renewal membership fees (Regular $30, Patron $100) should be brought to the general meeting or mailed to Scott MacPhail at 1504 Shorncliffe Road, Victoria, BC, V8P 2T4.

Tom Cockburn will bring used Geological Survey of Canada pogo sticks, a field instrument used to measure stratigraphy, that were offered earlier. These sticks are not in perfect condition and some repairs may be necessary.

A field trip is planned for Sep 23 2017.

June 2017 field trip – no monthly meeting

The lack of a speaker forces the cancellation of this month’s meeting that had been planned for this week. Apologies.

There will be a field trip this month. Please see details in the email sent to all society members by Tom Cockburn.

Date: Sunday, June 25

Meeting Location and Time:  Helmcken Road Park and Ride, 08:00 AM to sign-in and arrange car-pooling. Please do offer your driver gas money. If you have not yet filled in a BCPA waiver this year you will need to do so before joining the field trip.

Safety and Equipment: 

  • Safety: We will be visiting an intertidal site, so you should expect to be walking on rocks that can be slippery and treacherous. Expect to be around water.
  • Equipment: Fossils may be found in exposed rock and in concretions, so a good hammer or sledge, chisel, and protective eyewear are required.

The weather forecasts call for sun, but this is the west coast so you should prepare for anything from blazing sun to torrential downpours.

May 2017 Field Trip – no monthly meeting

There will be a field trip this month. Please see details in the email sent to all society members by Tom Cockburn.

Unfortunately, there will be no monthly meeting on May 17 due to lack of a speaker.

Date:  Saturday, May 27th (note that this is NOT the Saturday following the Monthly Meeting)

Meeting Location and Time:  Helmcken Road Park and Ride; 07:00 AM)  Arrange car-pooling.

Safety and Equipment: 

  • Safety: We will be visiting an intertidal site, so you should expect to be walking on rocks that can be slippery and treacherous.
  • Equipment: At some sites the fossils are only found in concretions, so a good hammer or sledge and protective eyewear are required. At other sites the fossils are found in the rock, so a small chisel is helpful.

VicPS Meeting April 19 7:30 pm

April 19, 2017 7:30 pm, Room A120, Cornett Building, UVic.

Speaker: Gary Kaiser, RBCM research Associate and VicPS member.

Topic: Why dinosaurs got small:  how biology of the dinosaur-bird lineage made them such a huge success for several hundred million years.  For all of that time, both dinosaurs and birds have depended on a hard shelled egg for reproduction.  The shell imposes a strict budget on the development of the hatchling and has led to important changes in the skeleton and behaviour of modern birds.