People’s University Is All About Dinosaurs This Summer – Wheeling Intelligencer

WHEELING Its the summer of dinosaurs, and the Ohio County Public Library in Wheeling invites patrons to learn all about the amazing prehistoric creatures in an eight-week series.

The new dinosaur series will feature paleontolgists and students of paleontology from Pittsburghs venerable Carnegie Museum of Natural History, discussing topics ranging from defining what dinosaurs actually were, to how they are related to modern birds and reptiles, to how and why they became extinct. The series will conclude with a behind-the-scenes field trip guided by the museums principal dinosaur researcher himself, Dr. Matthew Lamanna.

For inquiries and to register for the series, call the library at 304-232-0244, visit http://www.ohiocountylibrary.org, send an email, or visit the librarys reference desk.

All classes will take place on Thursday evenings. The full class schedule for Peoples University Dinosaurs at the Ohio County Public Library will be as follows:

Class 1: July 21 at 7 p.m. What is a Dinosaur?

A fun, interactive introduction into what is and isnt a dinosaur. Many people exclude things like birds from their definition of a dinosaur, but include things like crocodiles, turtles, pterosaurs, and sometimes even mammoths. This lecture would clarify misunderstandings of what makes something a dinosaur, like the fact that something doesnt have to be extinct to be a dinosaur but they do need their legs to be positioned beneath their bodies.

Class 2: July 28 at 7 p.m.

The Dinosaur Family Tree

With the definition of what dinosaurs are already established, we will explore the evolutionary history of dinosaurs, including the many different groups of dinosaurs and how they are related. Everything from ornithomimids to hadrosaurs are fair game!

Class 3: Aug. 4 at 7 p.m. Tectonics & Dinosaur Dispersal

Discover how the position of the continents changed over prehistory and how that impacts where dinosaurs are discovered today. There are species of dinosaur that are found on multiple continents, demonstrating how much closer the continents were at the time.

Class 4: Aug. 11 at 7 p.m. Dinosaur C.S.I.

Dinosaurs left more behind than just their bones and skin. They also left footprints, coprolites and other evidence of their day-to-day life.

We will examine different types of dinosaur fossils and how each informs paleontologists about dinosaur behavior, just like how crime scene investigators use physical evidence to piece together what happened.

Class 5: Aug. 18 at 7 p.m. Dinosaur Species of Jurassic Park

What do Velociraptor, Brachiosaurus, Triceratops, Dilophosaurus, and, of course, Tyrannosaurus rex have in common? They all became movie stars in the internationally popular film, Jurassic Park. Even more species like Allosaurus and Stegosaurus appeared in the movies sequels. Giganotosaurus appears in the latest installment, Jurassic World: Dominion, released this summer. But were their portrayals realistic according to the latest science? We will explore this question.

Class 6: Aug. 25 at 7 p.m. The Evolution of Flight

We will take to the air to discover how feathered dinosaurs became the progenitors of birds and unravel the avian link to dinosaur species such as Archaeopteryx and Microraptor. Well also take a look at pterosaurs.

Class 7: Sept. 1 at 7 p.m. The End of Dinosaurs and Rise of Mammals

Mammals originated at the same time as dinosaurs but remained overshadowed until the non-avian dinosaurs went extinct. What led to mammals subsequent success? Trace the rise of mammals from humble origins to charismatic megafauna, and discover some of the unique traits that have helped them thrive in changing habitats on land and at sea.

Class 8: Sept. 8 at 6 p.m. Finale Field Trip to Carnegie Museum of Natural History

Participants who attend all of the first seven classes will get preference for the field trip, as we are limited to 20 people. If more than 20 qualify, we will draw names.

Attendees will get a behind the scenes look at the Dinosaurs in Their Time exhibition at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History in Pittsburgh. Those interested will be responsible for their own transportation to and from the museum, where we will meet at 6 p.m. for the tour. It will last about 1 hour. This exhibition is home to dozens of real, original fossils displayed in scientifically accurate reconstructions of their ancient habitats.

ABOUT THE INSTRUCTORS

Lindsay Kastroll will be the instructor for Classes 1-4. She is a paleontology student and museum volunteer with a special interest in dinosaurs. Following her recent graduation from California University of Pennsylvania with degrees in biology and geology, she will be attending a masters program in Biological Sciences at the University of Alberta starting in Fall 2022 where she will complete research on ornithischian dinosaurs: think things like Triceratops, Ankylosaurus, and Stegosaurus. She got her start volunteering with the Carnegie Museum of Natural History writing Mesozoic Monthly, a series of deep dives on prehistoric creatures for the museum blog.

Taylor McCoy will instruct Classes 5-6. He is a vertebrate paleontology volunteer at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History under Dr. Matt Lamanna. His experience there includes community outreach through science communication and fossil restoration. McCoy also has field experience working with Dr. Thomas Carr in Montana, excavating and prospecting fossils from the late Cretaceous.

Dr. A. R. West will instruct Class 7. West holds a PhD in paleontology from Columbia University and a BA in organismal biology from the Univ. of Cambridge, UK. Dr. West moved to Pittsburgh to complete a postdoctoral fellowship at Carnegie Museum of Natural History in the Section of Paleontology and the Section of Mammals. They now work in the department of Biological Sciences at the University of Pittsburgh, where they teach classes on molecular genetics, evolution and science communication. West has carried out paleontology fieldwork in several different states, the UK and Antarctica.

Dr. Matthew Lamanna will serve as instructor and museum tour guide for Class 8. He is the Mary R. Dawson Associate Curator of Vertebrate Paleontology and the principal dinosaur researcher at Carnegie Museum of Natural History in Pittsburgh. He received his bachelor of science degree from Hobart College and his master of science degree and Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania. He has directed or co-directed field expeditions to Antarctica, Argentina, Australia, China, Croatia, Egypt and Greenland that have resulted in the discovery of numerous new species of dinosaurs and other animals from the Cretaceous Period. Lamanna served as chief scientific advisor to Carnegie Museums $36 million Dinosaurs in Their Time exhibition and has appeared on television programs for PBS (NOVA), Discovery Channel, History Channel, A&E, the Science Channel and more.

For inquiries about this new Peoples University series and to register, call the library at 304-232-0244, email the library staff or visit http://www.ohiocountylibrary.org.

The Peoples University is a free series open to the public. Guests are welcome to attend as many classes as they wish. There are no tests or other requirements.

The first 50 attendees to register and attend the first class will get a free official Peoples University Dinosaurs T-shirt, which can be found at Zazzle.com. Those people will also receive free dinosaur reference books recommended by our experts, including The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs: A New History of a Lost World and Dinopedia, an illustrated, pocket-friendly encyclopedia of all things dinosaurian.

Both books are complimentary for attendees, who will also receive a dinosaur tote bag.

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People's University Is All About Dinosaurs This Summer - Wheeling Intelligencer