On April 22, 2017, the UCMP and Berkeley Natural History Museums provided another outstanding day of fun scientific and educational activities on Cal Day, the annual campus open house. Departments invite prospective students and the greater Berkeley community to explore new and exciting research on campus. It also provides the public and friends of UCMP the opportunity to become Junior paleontologists, see rare fossils and take special tours to check out the inner workings of the UCMP, not normally open to the public.
Our 2017 t-shirts featured a block out style T. rex and Kossmatia, an ancient ammonite from our collections, illustrated by our very own David K. Smith (Get yours at https://ucmp.berkeley.edu/support.php).
The crowds of visitors multiplied exponentially as the day went on. Families enjoyed the activities on display by the BNHM in the Valley Life Sciences courtyard on the second floor. From a live mini kelp forest, to stick bugs, to our Proboscidean fossils, the BNHM offered everyone a peek into the variety of science disciplines here on campus. Our younger friends enjoyed an afternoon of digging for fossils at our Fun with Fossils activity.
This year, UCMP was determined to show that the paleontological sciences are more alive than ever! The theme for the UCMP was Fascinating Fossils! Charismatic specimens representing the different parts of our collections were on display. These included horned dinosaurs, antlers from ice age megafauna, and even tiny microfossils. Professor Emeritus Bill Clemens, pictured above with a large pachycephalosaur, spent the day inspiring young visitors. Along with many of the UCMP graduate student volunteers, Bill described how paleontologists at UCMP study the fossils in our collections while drawing connections between the fossils and the larger environmental implications. Ken Finger featured microfossils and visitors excitedly examined their elegant symmetry under the microscopes.
Even our Director Charles Marshall joined in the fun, donning a pair of Megaloceros antlers at the Selfie Station. All in all, it was another successful Cal Day.