DATE: April 06, 2009

CONTACT: Claiborne Linvill, 864-656-6205
linvill@clemson.edu

WRITER: Claiborne Linvill, 864-656-6205
linvill@clemson.edu

Museum curators will lead a field trip to hunt for fossils in Georgia

CLEMSON — Join curators from the Bob Campbell Geology Museum for a trip 35 million years into the past. The museum staff will lead a day trip Saturday, April 18, to a fossil-rich location in Georgia to collect fossilized shark teeth, turtle and crocodile bones and maybe even whale teeth or bones.

A van will depart from the Bob Campbell Geology Museum at 8 a.m. and return by 8 p.m.  Lunch and transportation are included in the cost of $50 per person ($45 for Geology Museum members and volunteers). Because of the potentially dangerous nature of the site, all participants must be at least 10 years old and all children under 18 must be accompanied by an adult.

To help prepare for the trip, visitors are invited to attend a lecture by curator of collections David Cicimurri about the sharks and rays found in the Southeast. Cicimurri has been conducting scientific research on sharks, rays and other cartilaginous fish of prehistoric North America for 15 years. He’ll lead the discussion from 4 to 6 p.m. Tuesday, April 14, in the Hayden Conference Center in the South Carolina Botanical Garden. Tickets are $10 ($8 for members and volunteers).  

To register for either program, call 864-656-3405 or e-mail scbg@clemson.edu. All registrations for the field trip must be received by April 14. For more information, visit http://virtual.clemson.edu/groups/geomuseum/.

The staff of the Bob Campbell Geology Museum at Clemson University strives to enrich people’s lives by stimulating their curiosity and fostering a greater awareness and understanding of the complex, dynamic nature of geology. The museum illustrates geologic principles with southeastern United States and global examples, and demonstrates interrelationships between geology, botany and the human experience.

The Bob Campbell Geology Museum is located in the South Carolina Botanical Garden on the campus of Clemson University, near the intersection of U.S. 76 and Perimeter Road. The museum is partially supported by the state of South Carolina via Clemson University, but relies on private funding, memberships and proceeds from educational events to continue operations. Contact the museum for more information at 864-656-4600 or BCGM@clemson.edu, or visit http://virtual.clemson.edu/groups/geomuseum/.