It is a small world. Sitting in class today with Dr. Lance Lambert, I asked about whether he had been to Wisconsin to take in the Baraboo Mountains and their exceedingly old quartzite rock after he eluded to them in our afternoon talk. He said he had only been to visit a colleague in Milwaukee, Dr. Mark Harris. Strangely enough, not only did I know who Dr. Harris was, I also taught his fabulous daughter, Maren, in multiple classes at Cedarburg High School. So, shout out to Dr. Harris and his daughter, Maren.
Dr. Lambert was amazing to listen to. I asked a lot of questions today, probably annoyed him like crazy, but he was a wealth of information. Much of what he shared, I will be able to use in my classroom next fall – so Nicolet students, FYI, I will have new research and a possible new activity... get ready to wheel barrel! I am including some awesome highlights of the fossils he passed around this afternoon. My favorite was the velociraptor. Apparently not a very big brain (pea size) and also not a very big creature but Jurassic Park is still a classic even if the science wasn't spot on! Being on campus at UTSA has once again renewed my passion for learning. It never really goes away, but when I get to take amazing classes, I am always rejuvenated and reminded of why I love learning. My mom always said I would make a an excellent professional student. Mom is always right!
Velociraptor skull, pretty tiny and not much room for a brain!
Large crocodilian-like amphibian. Would not want to have met up with this guy!
In other small world events, I also had the opportunity to meet Dr. Yongli Gao yesterday. He spoke to us on hydrology and will be leading our field trip tomorrow to a cave and other hydrogeology related sites. It turns out, he may be accompanying us to Antarctica as well. So, that was exciting. He has lived in a myriad number of places in the US after moving from China for his grad work. He spent several years in Minnesota and knows all about the driftless area and even spoke in Lancaster, WI. Another odd connection. Lancaster is tiny and it is only a mere 10 miles or so from my hometown of Potosi, WI.
Finally, I should also mention my youngest daughter today. It was her golden birthday and I wasn't there to share it with her. So, Happy Birthday Hailey!
Large teeth in this skull. I think this was the sabretooth, but I could be wrong!
T-Rex skull in 1/16th scale.
Large Bird-like skull, walked around 10,000 years ago – human ancestors walked with this beast!
Mammal skull but looks much like a dinosaur! Skull holes make it mammalian though, Synapsid skull.
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