FMC Annual Show Kid’s Area Breaks Record 

Our club's annual show at the Boulder County Fairgrounds Dec 7-9 was a great success, and this year we broke the record for money raised at the grab bags and kids-area activities tables, raising about $650 over the three days, which all goes to our Colorado School of Mines scholarship fund. Many thanks to Kristi Traynor and all of the FMC volunteers who worked in the kid's area at this year's show! Following are some photos from the show.

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February Field Trip

The first field trip of 2008 will be a special visit to the Colorado School of Mines Geology Museum in Golden on Saturday, February 9. At 10 am, we will have a one-hour tour of the museum. Afterwards, we will be treated to a special behind-the-scenes tour of the museum’s collection, including several recent acquisitions that have not been publicly displayed. The staff will be there to answer questions about their collection. This is a great field trip for kids, as well as long-time collectors. To find out more about the museum, check their website at http://www.mines.edu/Academic/geology/museum/.

You can sign up for the trip at January’s club meeting or by contacting Dennis Gertenbach.


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Jr. Geologists Learn about Rocks and Minerals

This fall, the Jr. Geologists have been working towards earning their Rocks and Mineral Badge. Activities have included learning how to identify different types of igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic rocks, identifying minerals by luster, hardness, streak, color, and crystal shape, and growing crystals.

January’s meeting will be on Thurs, January 17 at 7 pm at Charlotte Morrison’s house. The Jr. Geologists will finish the requirements for this badge, plus have a little after-holiday celebration. The Jr. Geologists program is open to all Flatirons Mineral Club families. For more information about the Jr. Geologists program, please contact Dennis Gertenbach or Todd Shannon.
 

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Holiday Party

Once again, this year’s holiday party was a great success, with good food and the always-fun gift exchange. Although we had a slow start – we were locked out of the building for a half hour – the party quickly got underway once we were inside. “Santa” Gerry Naugle presided over the gift exchange, and over 40 people participated this year. Many great gifts were exchanged multiple times, until the final owner was determined. And, no one went home without having a good time visiting with other members and with a great gift in hand.

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An Elephant Never Forgets!

A friendly reminder that the annual dues to the FMC became due on October 1st, 2007. The dues are still only $15 per individual (or) immediate family. You can pay in two ways:

SEND A CHECK TO:
(made to) "Flatirons Mineral Club” (or) "FMC"
P.O. Box 3331
Boulder, CO 80307
(or) pay Gerry Naugle /Alex Cook, Treasurer (or) Chuck & Jan Buda, Membership Co-Chairs at any FMC monthly meeting. One of them is at the sign-in table upon entering the room for the monthly meetings. Your receipt is your new annual 2007-08 FMC membership card.

You can pay by CASH at an FMC meeting. Please do not send cash to the Club P.O. Box 3331 by USPS mail. Remember you can receive electronic (or) paper club newsletters containing the general meetings information, guided club field trips information, annual show opportunities, silent auction opportunities and an annual club summer picnic when you are a member of the Flatirons Mineral Club. The 2007-08 dues must be received by the club by Jan 31st, 2008 in order to stay current on the newsletters and club member benefits.


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Librarian Needed

The Flatirons Mineral Club has one of the best libraries of books, videos, CDs, and other resources of any of the rock clubs in the state. Our current librarian, Ray Gilbert, lives in Berthoud, which limits access for most of our club members in the Boulder area. We are looking for a new club librarian, who will store our club's books, provide a selection of books at each club meeting for people to check out, help club members find information about various aspects of our hobby, and periodically update the list of available resources for club members. Ideally, the librarian should have some space in their basement or a room at their home. If you would like to volunteer or to get more information about being the club librarian, please contact Ray Gilbert.
 

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Take a Trip to . . . The Rocky Mountain Dinosaur Resource Center
Dennis Gertenbach

As you are driving through the town of Woodland Park, west of Colorado Springs, you see dinosaurs roaming among palm trees by the side of the highway. This is the home of the Rocky Mountain Dinosaur Resource Center, one of the premier museums where kids and adults can learn about dinosaurs.

This museum is chock-full of displays of dinosaurs, pterosaurs, marine reptiles, fish, and other giants of the Cretaceous period. The many fossil skeletons are displayed with interpretive graphics and life-size restorations to help everyone get a better idea of what these animals looked like and how they lived. There is also a paleontological workshop, where fossils are being extracted from rock, and several videos showing how dinosaurs lived.

The Dinosaur Hall contains an every changing display of skeletons, containing both actual fossils and fossil casts, of many dinosaur species. Flying overhead are pterosaur skeletons. The Prehistoric Ocean has fossils of many Cretaceous marine reptiles and fish – some over 40 feet long and quite ferocious.

For the kids, there is a hands-on activity center. The junior paleontologists can dig for dinosaur bones, create their own dinosaur, and try their hand at identifying dinosaurs. They can even touch actual fossil bones, skulls, and teeth, comparing carnivores with plant eaters. And young dinosaur lovers can purchase books, models, and other dino stuff from the museum gift shop.

For hours, entrance fees, directions, and special events and activities, see their website. The Center is located at 201 S. Fairview Street in Woodland Park and their phone number is 719-686-1820.
 

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Upcoming FMC programs

January 10: Gerry Naugle will present a short show-and-tell on meteorites, with specimens from his collection.  Then we will have the volunteer appreciation awards for the all the show volunteers.

February 14: Rob Amerman, whom you may have met at past FMC meetings, will present a talk on his dissertation research, "Undersea Landslides: Modern and Ancient." His talk will be illustrated by scenic slides from his field research areas in the Guadalupe Mountains of west Texas, the Pyrenees of Spain and the Northern Calcareous Alps of Austria.

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Bring Your Field Trip Finds

If you found some great specimens at one of our club field trips, or on a trip of your own, please bring them to the next club meeting to show others.  Everyone enjoys learning where to collect specimens and what can be found.

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Fossils in the News
Dennis Gertenbach
 

Dinosaur Raptors Hunted in Packs 

Paleontologists have discovered a dinosaur trackway in Shandong Province in China that show the footprints of six Dromeosaurs, Cretaceous dinosaurs that lived 100 to 120 million years ago. These trackways show that paths of the six 200-pound raptors did not overlap, indicating that the dinosaurs were walking side-by-side. The movie Jurassic Park showed dinosaurs hunting in pack, but no fossil evidence had been found to support this. However, this new find shows that the dinosaurs were moving together. With this type of social behavior, scientists believe that it is quite likely that the animals also hunted in groups.


Giant Bug found in Germany

British paleontologists have found a 390 million year old claw of a sea scorpion known as Jaekelopterus Rhenaniae that was 8 feet long, making it the largest bug ever found. These ancient sea scorpions are believed to be the extinct ancestors of today's scorpions and possibly all arachnids (spiders, scorpions, mites and ticks). This fossil surpasses the previous record by almost 1½ feet. Sea scorpions, known as eurypterids, dominated the oceans for millions of years because they had no natural enemies. Once large fish with teeth and jaws evolved, sea scorpions were wiped out. Some paleontologists believe that sea scorpions evolved to larger and larger sizes in an evolutionary battle with fish developing larger and stronger jaws.

Mummified Dinosaur Provides Rare Look at Soft Tissue

An extremely rare mummified dinosaur fossil has been found by a high school student hunting fossils in the badlands of North Dakota. One of only a half dozen mummified dinosaurs found in the Cretaceous Hell Creek Formation, this 25-foot long hadrosaur is the best preserved and shows three-dimensional detail of the animal. Scales can be seen on the skin show varying size, a possible indication of changes in skin color, texture or flexibility. The palms show a fleshy palm, while the feet have keratin hooves, suggesting that the animal did not walk on all fours. The three-dimensional preservation of the animal’s body show that the backside is much larger than previously thought and that the animal could run as fast as 28 mph, faster than a Tyrannosaurus Rex, one of its main predators.

Mammoths Struck By Meteorite?

Fossil evidence indicates that mammoths in Alaska were blasted with meteorite fragments 35,000 years ago. Eight tusks have been found with small (1/10 inch) perforations. Researchers have also found a Siberian bison skull with similar marks. The tusks and skull show raised, burnt surface rings, showing the point of entry of high-velocity particles. These marks are only found on one side, consistent with a blast coming from a single direction. The embedded particles are magnetic with a high iron and nickel content. In the case of the bison, they appear to have survived the impact, because there is new bone growth around these marks. Scientists are now trying to relate these findings to the populations of these large animals.

Whales Evolved From Tiny Deer-like Mammals

Paleontologists have long puzzled over the origin of whales. Although most closely related to today’s hippopotamus, hippos do not appear in the fossil record until about 35 million years after whales diverged from land animals. Scientists have recently uncovered fossils of a small deer-like creature, known as Indohyus, that appear to fill this gap in the fossil record. Indohyus lived in southern Asia 48 million years ago and was a semi-aquatic animal about the size of a raccoon. The structure of the animal's skull and ears is key to demonstrating that Indohyus was closely related to whales.


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Upcoming Events, Nearby & Elsewhere
 

Tuesday, Jan. 8, will be the next and a special evening meeting of the Colorado Scientific Society, the annual Emmons Lecture, featuring visiting speaker Dr. Steven Squyres, of Cornell University, who will present a program on Science Results from the Mars Exploration Rover Mission. This presentation will be held in the Green Center, CSM Campus, Golden, 8 p.m.
See the CSS website for more details.

Friday, Jan. 11 -- Rocky Mountain Reunion of the U.S. Bureau of Mines: Meet with friends and former employees of the U.S. Bureau of Mines at the Annual Rocky Mountain Reunion of the Bureau at the China King Restaurant in Lakewood at 11 AM, Friday, January 11, 2008. No RSVPs are necessary. Just show up and pay your own way. (But for more info about this, please contact Dan Witkowsky, DanielWitkowsky@aol.com)

Friday, Jan. 11, and the second Friday of every month through November, Free USGS GPS, Map, and Compass Classes will resume for 2008. Building
810, Federal Center, Lakewood; 9-11 a.m. Map & Compass, 12-4 p.m., GPS class. Call 303-202-4689 or email gpsworkshops@usgs.gov to reserve a place in the sessions, or see www.cr.usgs.gov/gpsworkshops/index.html for more information.

Thursday, Jan. 30, a "Fireside Chat" lecture sponsored by the Friends of Dinosaur Ridge, "Tracking the growth and tracks of Emus" by Todd Green and Dr. Brent Breithaupt, of the University of Wyoming. Now, there's a different topic; in case you can't quite comprehend what an "Emus" is, that's the plural of "Emu", the big bird (which is, of course, a dinosaur descendant). 7:00 p.m. in the Dinosaur Ridge Visitors Center, 16831 Alameda Parkway.

Feb. 22-24, Denver Gem and Mineral Guild Gem and Mineral Show will be held at the Jefferson County Fairgrounds. Free admission; for more info see http://home.comcast.net/~DenverGem/Shows.html

March 28-30, Fort Collins Rockhounds Gem and Mineral Show. Lincoln Center, 417 W. Magnolia, Fort Collins. For more information: http://fortcollinsrockhounds.org/gemAndMineralShow.shtml
 

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Museums and Web Sites
Pete Modreski

University of Colorado Museum, Boulder, ongoing exhibits include: "Fossils: Clues to the Past" in the museum's Paleontology Hall, and "What's In a Name"? Understanding the World of Plants", through May
15, 2008 in the McKenna Gallery, exhibits the science and art of botanical classification. This exhibit examines the very human endeavor of placing names on the flowers, grasses, and trees with which we share the world, and the closely related study of understanding their biological and historical relatedness with each other. For more information about the museum see http://cumuseum.colorado.edu/

The Colorado School of Mines Geology Museum has superb exhibits of minerals, including special displays about crystals, state rocks and gemstones, Colorado minerals, gold, silver, radioactivity, fluorescent minerals, and more. The museum is free, and open 9-4 weekdays and 1-4 Sundays. Located at 13th and Maple Streets on campus in Golden; see http://www.mines.edu/Academic/geology/museum/

The Dinosaur Ridge Visitors Center, near Morrison, is a free visitors center and gift shop which serves as the place to find out about what's to see outdoors at Dinosaur Ridge, as well as at the new Triceratops Trail interpretive trail near 6th Ave. and 19th St. at the edge of Golden. The Visitor Center is at 16831 W. Alameda Parkway; just follow Alameda toward the Hogback and Red Rocks Park. It's open 9-4 Mon.-Sat., 11-4 Sun.; for more info call 303-697-1873 or see www.dinoridge.org. The sales shop is a great place to buy dinosaur-related books, shirts, models, toys, specimens, and more.

In that area, also consider a visit to the Morrison Natural History Museum, with exhibits about local and worldwide dinosaurs and other fossils as well as live reptiles and amphibians to see and perhaps handle! Open 10-4 Mon.-Sat., 12-4 Sun.; admission charge. For more info see http://www.mnhm.org/index.html, or call 303-697-1873. Located 1/2 mile south of Morrison on State Highway 8 (heading toward The Fort restaurant and US-285).

Yet another place to visit, a "best kept secret", is the Dinosaur Tracks Museum on the CU-Denver Auraria Campus. "Home to the world's largest collection of fossil footprints", the museum is run by Dr. Martin
Lockley's Dinosaur Trackers Research Group. It is located in the St. Cajetans Building, at the end of Lawrence Way on the Auraria Campus. Entry is free; the museum is normally open from 12 to 2 p.m., Monday through Thursday during the regular Spring and Fall semesters (this means it will probably be closed from Dec. 16 through Jan. 21). Special tours can be arranged for groups at other times. For more info see http://carbon.cudenver.edu/public/oldtrackers/ or call 303-556-5261

Also keep in mind the Dinosaur Depot Museum in Canon City, operated by the Garden Park Paleontology Society; open 10-4 also with dinosaur exhibits and a gift shop. See http://www.dinosaurdepot.com/

A little farther afield, if you are up in the mountains, consider visiting the National Mining Hall of Fame and Museum in Leadville; it has excellent exhibits about mining history & technology and rocks, minerals, and their uses. See http://www.mininghalloffame.org/


AOL (America Online) science news currently has an excellent story & pictures posted about the discovery of a mummified Hadrosaurian dinosaur in North Dakota, as well as a fascinating slide show about other "Recent Fossil Discoveries". I don't know how long this will be posted; you should be able to view it directly at
http://news.aol.com/story/_a/mummified-dinosaur-reveals-surprises/20071202194209990002 or from the www.aol.com home page, click on More: Top News, then Science, and scroll down to this story.

Speaking of dinosaurs, the December 2007 issue of National Geographic has a very good article on Extreme Dinosaurs (also titled Big Bad Bizarre Dinosaurs) -- pictures and insightful comments about dinosaurs with highly unusual and bizarre features, and why they might have developed that way (which in some cases, is totally unknown). See the magazine, or www.nationalgeographic.com (the website also has the story about the mummified Hadrosaur discovery).

The About Geology website (http://geology.about.com/) currently has some excellent online articles posted about Cement and Concrete (I learned a lot from this!), several interesting items about building stones, as well as a vast amount of articles and links to other material about all things geological. It's worth a look (if this sort of things interests you as much as it does me) and you can sign up to receive free weekly e-bulletins about what's posted there. Try their very educational geo-quizzes to "win a million" (only virtually) about various geological topics; the latest is "Geologic Disasters".

Another excellent geological website of great interest on many topics is Geology.com, at http://geology.com/. Here you can read & view stories about Lowest Land Below Sea Level, Sliding Rocks on Racetrack Playa, Who Owns the Arctic, and all sorts of things. Very much worth a look! It has a weekly geology quiz and will also send out daily emails about interesting geology news.

And while we're at it, a final "geology web site" is Earth Science Sites of the Week, which is a weekly email listserv sent out by Mark Francek of Central Michigan University. The home page has links to a great many
websites with information about all aspects of geology and earth science--volcanoes, glaciers, earthquakes, climate, oceanography, rocks & minerals, plate tectonics animations, and so on, plus an archive to all the past material posted here. Check it out at http://webs.cmich.edu/resgi.
 

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Updated 1/7/08