PaleoFest March 2-3 at Rockford’s Burpee Museum

Staff Report

The 15th Annual PaleoFest will be from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Saturday and Sunday, March 2-3, at Rockford’s Burpee Museum of Natural History, 737 N. Main St., Rockford.

General admission is $12 (includes all Dino-Blast activities and Rick’s Picks); $20 for non-members and $15 for members for the “Dr. Scott Talks Dinosaurs” presentation, including general admission to Burpee, access to Dino-Blast Stations and Rick’s Picks; The End of the Dinosaurs Symposium, which includes admission to the museum and access to Rick’s Picks, is $80 for non-members and $60 for members and students for a two-day pass, and $60 for non-members and $40 for members and students for a one-day pass; the Dr. Horner Dinner Talk is sold out; and Hands On Burpee Workshops (Sunday only) are $15 non-members and $10 members.

Started in 1999, PaleoFest is a family-friendly event that celebrates the science of paleontology, with hands-on paleo-workshops for kids, Dino-Blast Activity Stations, paleo-themed adult lectures, and back for 2013 — Dr. Scott Sampson (aka “Dr. Scott”) of the popular PBS children’s show Dinosaur Train.

In addition to being a TV host, Dr. Scott is a world-renowned paleontologist and educator who delivers exciting, kid-friendly presentations, inspiring children to “get outside, get into nature and make their own discoveries!”

This year, Dr. Scott will deliver kids presentations both Saturday and Sunday called “Dr. Scott Talks Dinosaurs.” Registration for Dr. Scott’s presentations includes general admission to the museum.

For PaleoFest weekend, Burpee will have several Dino-Blast activity stations throughout the museum. Children who attend one of Dr. Scott’s presentations and complete all the Dino-Blast activity stations will receive a Junior Paleontologist Certificate signed by Dr. Scott.

In addition to Dr. Scott, Burpee will have Dr. John “Jack” Horner, curator of paleontology from the Museum of the Rockies, who will provide the Saturday evening dinner talk.

Dr. Horner is one of the best-known paleontologists in the world, having written hundreds of scientific papers and several books. Dr. Horner is regularly seen on dinosaur documentaries on Discovery Channel , National Geographic and 60 Minutes. He will be talking about dinosaur ontogeny (how a dinosaur changes as it grows up).

Special for the 2013 PaleoFest is The End of the Dinosaurs Symposium. This first-of-its-kind symposium will feature 32 well-known paleontologists from all over the world, who will be presenting new research on the latest Cretaceous period. There will be presenters from the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History, Museum of the Rockies, University of Toronto, University of Iowa, University of California/Berkeley, University of Alberta, Royal Tyrrell Museum, and international presenters from Argentina, China, Japan and Scotland.

Registration for the symposium includes Burpee general admission, access to Dino-Blast and Rick’s Picks.

For more PaleoFest information about Dr. Scott, Dino-Blast Activities, Burpee Paleo-workshops, Jack Horner dinner lecture, the late Cretaceous scientific symposium/lectures and more, visit www.burpee.org or call (815) 965-3433.

From the Feb. 27-March 5, 2013, issue

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