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Dinosaurs: What We Think We Know and Why

Dinosaurs: What We Think We Know and Why

This four-week forum presented by Assistant Professor of Biology Jon Mitchell will highlight the science, mystery, meaning and beauty of dinosaurs. It will explore what we know about when, where and how dinosaurs lived their lives. The first session will introduce the basics of how we find and study dinosaur fossils, including some basic background in geology and how the study of geology has influenced larger historical events like the Industrial Revolution and the Cold War. As part of the presentation, Dr. Mitchell will share his experiences digging dinosaur fossils in unusual places. Week two will focus on dinosaur evolution. We will survey the different kinds of dinosaurs, what they looked like, and how they changed over time. This will involve an introduction to phylogenetics, which is the science underlying how we reconstruct the “tree of life” and how related animals are to one another. In week three, we will examine what we do and do not know about what different dinosaurs ate and how they lived. We will see how scientists variously use fossilized dinosaur dung, organs, footprints, isotopes and other strange and unexpected pieces of evidence to test their conclusions about dinosaur lifestyles. The final session will discuss trends and patterns in the fossil record of dinosaurs and what they tell us about the processes of evolution in general and dinosaurs in particular.

Thursday Forum is held in Kesler Auditorium on the first floor of Hickok Hall. Each weekly session begins with registration and refreshments from 8:45-9:15 AM, followed by the lecture until 11:30 AM. The presentations blend lecture, media such as film and music, and discussion.

Admission to each four-week forum series is $40. Admission to individual lectures and one- and two-week forums is $12 per week. Admission includes the lecture and morning refreshments of coffee, tea and pastries. Payment can be made in person on Thursday mornings by cash or personal check. Credit card payments can be processed by registering online in advance at www.coe.edu/thursday-forum. For more information, visit the Thursday Forum website or call 319.399.8523.

In the event of inclement weather, consult local media outlets to find out if the day’s forum will take place.