Celebrate the end of winter with special Ice Age-themed programming on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays from March 26 through April 24. Enjoy hands-on activities, see fossils from Ice Age mammals and discover what Ohio was like 12,000 years ago!
Join us in the museum for weekly Ice Age Mammal Fossil tours and be sure to pick up a special Museum Quest scavenger hunt from the front desk and be sure to check out the list of special guest talks below!
Please note Ice Age Museum Quest scavenger hunts and the mammoth craft are available every day. Fossil tours and story times are subject to change on a day-to-day basis.
Sat., March 26, 2022 • 1 p.m.
Ice Age Ohio
This talk looks at the effects (erosional and depositional) the glaciers had on Ohio, discusses how glaciers form, reviews the animals that lived in Ohio during the Ice Age, and ends with a look at a dig near Findlay, Ohio, that produced many fossil bones.
Presenter:
Dale Gnidovec,
Manager & Curator, Orton Geological Museum, School of Earth Sciences, The Ohio State University
Dale Gnidovec has been the Curator of the Ohio State University’s Orton Geological Museum for 33 years, where he takes care of over 55,000 rocks, minerals and fossils along with the exhibit hall. Part of his job is identifying things that people bring in, such as rocks, minerals, fossils, bones and teeth. Prior to the covid-19 pandemic he spoke to and educated about 5,000 people a year including elementary through high school classes, Scouts and other youth groups, at parks, libraries, nature centers, retirement communities and clubs, and he also teaches an Earth History course at OSU. Dale also writes a geology column that appears periodically in The Columbus Dispatch.
Sat., April 23, 2022 • 1 p.m.
Ice Age Mammals of Ohio
What kind of unusual animals walked right through our backyards and farms at the time that the glacier was retreating from Ohio? Learn about the variety of interesting mammals that lived in the state at the end of the Pleistocene, many of which are now extinct. See actual fossils and casts from Ice Age species like the mastodon, mammoth, giant beaver, and dire wolf in this interactive program with Ohio History Connection Curator, Dave Dyer.
Presenter:
Dave Dyer, Natural History Curator, Ohio History Connection
Dave started his career here, then left for graduate school and jobs in several natural history museums. He was excited to be able to return to the Ohio History Connection in 2013, where he works with collections, exhibits, education, and research. He is interested in animal skeletons in general, and particularly in the rich Pleistocene fauna that is found in Ohio.
