Mastodon Musings

Before artist Jeanne Filler Scott was an internationally recognized equine and wildlife artist, she was an art student at Rutgers University (class of 1977). As a frequent visitor of the Rutgers Geology Museum, Jeanne credits much of her artistic growth to the work of an artist named Alfred Poledo, whose paintings used to hang on the upper balcony of the Geology Museum.

Did you know that most shark species are at risk of extinction?  Since the 1970s, researchers have concluded that shark populations have fallen by 71%. Three quarters of these species are endangered, threatened with extinction. The principal cause? Overfishing.

Marguerite Thomas Williams: The First Black Person to Receive a Doctorate in Geology   Henry and Clara Thomas welcomed their sixth and final child, Marguerite, to their family on December 24, 1895. Marguerite Thomas grew up near Washington, D.C., but much is unknown about her childhood; however, her passion for nature, geology, and geography was sparked as a young child.

Join us for our 53rd Annual Open House event, which will be held virtually this year on Saturday, January 30, 2021! No need to venture out into the cold - just join us from the comforts of your home! We will be hosting a series of guest lectures, children’s activities, and a fossil & mineral auction. Let’s travel to prehistoric times and enjoy a fun-filled day of paleontology-themed activities!

Did you know that New Jersey has its own state fossil? Yes, you read that right! And even better, it’s a dinosaur! The Hadrosaurus foulkii was the first mostly complete dinosaur skeleton ever found in North America and marked a significant moment in the field of vertebrate paleontology in the late 1800s.

We are proud to announce the creation of our new “Ask A Geologist” Web Series! Held bi-weekly on Tuesdays and Thursdays, each geologist will first introduce the day's geologic topic and then answer your questions about that topic live!  As soon as Rutgers University made the announcement that it would close in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Museum Co-Director Dr. Lauren Adamo began thinking about ways the Museum could stay active in the community despite having to temporarily close its doors.

As the end of January quickly approaches, we are busily preparing for the Rutgers Geology Museum’s 52nd Annual Open House Event.   For the 52nd year, science-enthusiasts, rock and mineral-hounds, and children young and old will converge on Rutgers’ College Avenue Campus on the last Saturday in January to spend the day learning about Natural Disasters. Visitors will be able to participate in a lecture series, mineral sale, mineral identification station, arts and crafts stations, hands-on children’s lectures, and special appearances by other local science centers.

From introductory science classes to general biology, we have been taught that all organisms are coded by deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA).   Our grandparents gave a portion of their genetic code to our parents, our parents gave a portion of it to us, and we will provide some of that genetic code to our kids. Nothing more, nothing less; after all, Lamarck’s theory on passing down acquired characteristics has been shunned for nearly as long as it existed.

Observatories provide a wealth of knowledge that can help us understand the science of astronomy on a whole new level. During the Spring of 2019, I went to two Public Observatory Nights at the Robert A. Schommer Astronomical Observatory on Busch campus of Rutgers University. Although cloudy skies prevented me from viewing the sky from the telescope, I was able to attend a lecture presented by a member of the Rutgers Astronomical Society about the Mars rovers. The lecture explored topics such as the four terrestrial planets (Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars) and provided an in-depth look at the mission objectives and discoveries of the Mars rovers to date.

Unveiled at our Annual Open House in January, the Rutgers Geology Museum’s newest exhibit shows visitors how tiny space rocks, or meteorites, tell the big story of the formation of the stars and planets. Through the guidance of Rutgers University’s own resident meteorite expert, Dr. Juliane Gross of the Earth and Planetary Sciences Department, this three-part exhibit details the formation history of our Solar System, describes the origin and differences between the types of meteorites, and describes the formation of layered planets, like our own.

Our polar-themed, 51st Open House this January was a big hit with our highest attendance ever! Everyone had a great time learning how scientists conduct research in the extreme cold, how meteorites are collected in Antarctica, and how drones can be used to map glaciers!

As the end of January quickly approaches, we can be assured of a few things: the temperatures will surely start to plummet, all New Jerseyans will start to stalk the weather forecasts for oncoming snow, and the Rutgers Geology Museum will hold its Annual Open House event! For the 51st year, visitors, scientists, rock and mineral enthusiasts, and children young and old will converge on the College Avenue Campus on the last Saturday in January to spend the day embracing their inner geologist. 

Last month, Camryn Kozachek, one of our undergraduate student researchers, presented her work at the Geological Society of America’s national meeting in Indianapolis! Camryn came to the Geology Museum in the Fall of 2017 through the Rutgers Aresty Program. Camryn’s research project at the Geology Museum involved working with the museum directors to develop an educational activity to be used in an informal educational setting, like the Museum’s monthly Late Night Events, and the evaluation tools needed to assess the activity's effectiveness.

This month, we would like to introduce the new (and free!) Rutgers Geology Museum Mobile App! After a year of planning and content writing, our app has officially been released! The new app provides a more interactive experience at the Rutgers Geology Museum by offering additional information about many of our exhibits.  

Our very own Dr. Lauren Neitzke Adamo has been selected for a PolarTREC Expedition to the Swiss Alps to study the sliding rate of glaciers! PolarTREC (Teachers and Researchers Exploring and Collaborating) is a program that selects formal and informal educators to spend 3 to 6 weeks participating in hands-on research in the Arctic and Antarctic with the goal of increasing interest and awareness of polar science. The program, funded by the Arctic Research Consortium of the United States (ARCUS), began about 10 years ago and has already provided more than 150 teachers with hands-on field research experience.

Welcome to our new museum blog, where we hope to show our visitors more about the exciting new things happening at the Rutgers University Geology Museum (RUGM)! The heart and soul of our outreach and education activities at the RUGM has always been our group tour program.  Thousands of K-12 and university students tour our museum each year, while learning about some of our most popular exhibits.  This program has been and will always be free, but we have been working hard to provide new STEM programing that will not only encourage new groups to visit the RUGM, but also encourage other groups to come back again. 

Giant Crab Display Comes Back to Rutgers Geology Museum Three years of painstaking restoration make century-old gift from Japan look new again Written by Carl Blesch and originally published on Monday, June 22, 2015 for Rutgers Today Japan sent several of its young citizens to Rutgers in the late 1800s to receive a Western education, and it showed its appreciation to the university in a big and unique way – with the gift of an 11-foot-wide exoskeleton of a giant spider crab native to that country’s waters. Rutgers mounted the gift with pride on the balcony wall...

Plenty of summer fun to be had at the Rutgers Geology Museum! As Rutgers University reaches the end of another academic year, we would like to congratulate the graduating Class of 2019! Starting on May 20th, 2019, the Rutgers Geology Museum will be transitioning into its summer schedule, and will be operating under different hours than during the academic year.

Written by Melissa Kaye, Geology Museum Volunteer When I first came to the Rutgers Geology Museum, I was not expecting to find much. I thought that I would see some fossils and minerals and that would be the end of it. However, my experience ended up being so much more than just rocks and dinosaurs. After my first visit, I knew that I wanted to make geology a part of my life more permanently.

The Rutgers Geology Museum and the Zimmerli Art Museum at Rutgers are proud to be two of more than 2,000 museums across America to offer free admission to military personnel and their families this summer in collaboration with the National Endowment for the Arts, Blue Star Families, and the Dept. of Defense.

Max Deirmenjain, a Communication and English double major, class of 2014, and 30 other nominees were honored at the Student Employee of the Year Award Ceremony on April 16, 2014 hosted by the Rutgers Student Employment Office. Max and the other students were recognized for their outstanding contributions and dedication to their employing departments. Max has been an employee of the Rutgers Geology Museum for 4 years and is currently the Head Student Manager.

Written by Darshana Shapiro, PhD Candidate in the Department of Anthropology at Rutgers University Modern humans today eat all kinds of different foods, from cheeseburgers to crickets to kale, but what did our hominin ancestors eat three million years ago in East Africa? Did “Nutcracker Man” (Paranthropus boisei) actually crack nuts with its powerful jaws? Were Neanderthals really expert big game hunters? And how do we know?