HGS Annual Guest Night

HGS Guest Night June 16, 2007Amazing Fossils from the Permian of TexasNew Insights and New Ideas on Reptiles and Dinosaurs
 
article by Bill Osten, Linda Sternbach and Kara Bennett, Guest Night CommitteeFeatured speaker: Dr. Bob Bakker
This year’s HGS Guest Night program will have a paleontologicaltheme and feature Dr. Bob Bakker, a well known expert on dinosaurs and author of the book DinosaurHeresies, as the evening’s keynote speaker in the IMAX theatre. Dr. Bakker is sure toinspire and entertain as he discusses his research on dinosaurs and his efforts withthe Houston Museum of Natural Science to expand the collection of fossil dinosaursand Permian amphibians.As Visiting Curator of Paleontology for the museum, Dr. Bakker has a key role inthe expansion of the fossil collection planned for the next few years. The goal is to make Houston the home of a “world-class collection” of Permian dinosaur, reptile and amphibian fossils.
The 2007 Guest Night program will start at 6:30 p.m. at the Houston Museum of Natural Science. As is traditional, the HGS has the first and second floors of the museum reserved for the evening. After arriving and checking in, HGS members and guests will have about an hour and a half to enjoy the fossils, minerals, oil and gas, and other exhibits. Attendees will enjoy a Texas-sized buffet dinner, beverages and dessert inside the Museum’s main hall during a social period. Dr. Bakker will present an entertaining and interactive talk from 8:00 to 9:00 p.m. in the IMAX theatre.
To top off the night, lucky Guest Night attendees will be awarded door prizes that include beautiful mineral samples, fossils and dinosaur-themed souvenirs.The 2007 HGS Guest Night program is limited to 400 people due to seating capacity limitations of the IMAX theatre. Prepayment is required, and and tickets will NOT be available for walk-ins. Register early and pay online using the HGS Website, or pay bycheck and fill out and mail the registration form published in this issue of the Bulletin. Members can also pay by faxing credit card payment information along with their registration to the HGS office. The form and further instructions are on page 30 of the HGS Bulletin or online at the event page.http://www.hgs.org/en/cev/?689
A video was made of the evening presentation. Click here to get details of the video file.
Biographical SketchBob Bakker is one of modern paleontology’s best known characters. In 1986 he made a huge public splash with his entertaining book Dinosaur Heresies: Unlocking the Mystery of theDinosaurs and their Extinctions (Figure 2) where he explained that dinosaurs were most likely warm-blooded, fast-moving and related to birds. Bakker grew up in New Jersey, studied paleontology at Yale University withprofessor John Ostrom and received a PhD from Harvard University in 1976. As a PhD student, he was in charge of the Harvard comparative anatomy labs, honing his skills as an illustrator of modern birds and reptiles. He taught at the University ofColorado and has held numerous positions at museums in Colorado and Wyoming, including the Tate Museum, where he was Adjunct Curator.
Bob is a talented illustrator and his books are profusely decorated with ancient reptiles and dinosaurs imaginatively brought back to life, running, eating and hunting.As a Visiting Curator of Paleontology at HMNS, Bakker is actively mounting field expeditions to Permian fossil dig sites in northern Texas to find new fossils for the HGS Guest Night