MOAS Natural History Festival and Fossil Show

Daytona Beach, FL (August 23, 2016)

Join us at the Museum on Saturday, September 17 from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. for a celebration of all things natural history. Enjoy natural history specimens on display from rarely seen MOAS collections with many examples of fossils, mollusks, corals, insects, and more. Many other exhibitors will have displays set up including The Orlando Fossil Hunters Club, The Paw Paw Chapter of Native Plants, Halifax River Audubon, Department of Environmental Protection, Lyonia Preserve, Marine Discovery Center, and many more! MOAS invites you to bring in a fossil specimen for identification while learning about past life on Earth with our children’s PaleoLab! Admission to the Natural History Festival is free for MOAS Members and is included with general museum admission. A full schedule of lectures for the day is featured below.

11:00 a.m. – The “Paleo” Diet: What Did Our Prehistoric Ancestors Really Eat?
Dr. Briana Pobiner, Smithsonian Natural History Museum, Washington D.C. Dr. Pobiner’s research centers on the evolution of human diet with a focus on meat-eating. Since joining the Smithsonian in 2005 to help put together the Hall of Human Origins, in addition to continuing her active field, laboratory, and experimental research programs in Africa and Asia, she leads the Human Origins Program’s education and outreach efforts and manages the public programs, website content, social media, and exhibition volunteer training.

Join Dr. Pobiner from the Smithsonian Natural History Museum in Washington D.C. as she discusses facts, fallacies, and fantasies about prehistoric human diet. Using a variety of lines of evidence including early human, animal, and plant fossils, ancient stone tools, DNA, and living human and chimpanzee diets, she examines significant changes in the evolutions of human diets and discusses what makes human meat-eating unique.

12:00 p.m. – PBS Fossil Hunters TV Show and Cast: Episode 6 “Something Old Something New”

Fossil Hunters television series, created by Don and April Brunning, follows the adventures of a group of amature paleontologists and friends as they travel to amazing fossil sites around Florida to discover fantastic remnants from our past. Watch episode 6 as the Fossil Hunters head for Echinoid Island and meet cast members for a question and answer session.

1:00 p.m. – What’s Up with the Indian River Lagoon!
Chad Truxell, Executive Director, Marine Discovery Center. Chad Truxell has a Wildlife Ecology and Conservation degree from the University of Florida and has been the Executive Director of the Marine Discovery Center for over 10 years. Chad is also a certified instructor for the Florida Master Naturalist Program and open water diver.

The Indian River Lagoon is one of the great estuarine ecosystems in North America. This important ecosystem is 156 miles along Florida’s east coast, from Ponce Inlet to Jupiter Inlet, and is composed of three inter-connected estuaries. Learn more about this diverse estuary and its health.

2:00 p.m. – The Forgotten Extinction: How the Terminal Triassic Event Shaped the ‘Age of Dinosaurs’
Dr. William C. Parker, Associate Professor, Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Science, Florida State University. Dr. Parker has been a professor at Florida State University since 1980, doing research on macro evolutionary patterns, paleoecology, and mass extinctions.

Join award winning professor, Dr. William C. Parker, and learn about how a previous mass extinction event shaped dinosaur evolution which led to the rise of these amazing long lived reptiles.

3:00 p.m. - The “Paleo” Diet: What Did Our Prehistoric Ancestors Really Eat? ENCORE PRESENTATION
Dr. Briana Pobiner, Smithsonian Natural History Museum, Washington D.C. Dr. Pobiner’s research centers on the evolution of human diet with a focus on meat-eating. Since joining the Smithsonian in 2005 to help put together the Hall of Human Origins, in addition to continuing her active field, laboratory, and experimental research programs in Africa and Asia, she leads the Human Origins Program’s education and outreach efforts and manages the public programs, website content, social media, and exhibition volunteer training.

Join Dr. Pobiner from the Smithsonian Natural History Museum in Washington D.C. as she discusses facts, fallacies, and fantasies about prehistoric human diet. Using a variety of lines of evidence including early human, animal, and plant fossils, ancient stone tools, DNA, and living human and chimpanzee diets, she examines significant changes in the evolutions of human diets and discusses what makes human meat-eating unique.

Exhibits and dates subject to change.

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For more information please visit www.moas.org or contact Jenelle Codianne at jenelle@moas.org

About the Museum of Arts & Sciences - The Museum of Arts & Sciences (MOAS) is the primary art, science and history museum in Central Florida. The area's largest museum, MOAS is nationally accredited by the American Alliance of Museums and is a Smithsonian Institution Affiliate. Located on a 90-acre Florida nature preserve, the 100,000 square foot facility is host to over 30,000 objects including the Dow Gallery of American Art, one of the finest collections of American art in the Southeast, the Cuban Foundation Museum showcasing one of the most significant collections of Cuban paintings in the United States, the Schulte Gallery of Chinese Art, the Bouchelle Collection and Gallery of Decorative Arts, the largest and most comprehensive collection in the South, and the Root Family Museum featuring restored railroad cars, antique automobiles and the largest collection of Coca-Cola® memorabilia in Florida. The Helene B. Roberson Visible Storage Building exhibits thousands of objects from many donors which are owned by the Museum, while the Linda and Williams Children’s Museum presents an interactive experience for children. The Gillespy Gallery of Sub-Saharan African artifacts, a new state-of-the-art planetarium and the Cici and Hyatt Brown Museum of Art showcasing the largest collection of Florida-based art in the world, rounds out areas to explore inside the Museum of Arts & Sciences.

Museum Hours are 10am-5pm (Monday-Saturday) and 11am-5pm (Sunday). Museum of Arts & Sciences admission is $12.95 adults; $6.95 children 6-17; $10.95 seniors and students; members and children 5 and under are free. Daily Planetarium shows and weekly laser shows. Museum of Arts & Sciences admission includes one Planetarium show. Cici and Hyatt Brown Museum of Art admission is $10.95 adults; $4.95 children 6-17; $8.95 seniors and students; members and children 5 and under are free. Combo ticket admission is $18.95 adults; $9.95 children 6-17; $16.95 seniors and students; members and children 5 and under are free. Combo ticket admission includes on Planetarium show. Additional Planetarium shows are $5.00 for adults and $3.00 for children ages 17 and under. Parking is free. Admission is FREE for Volusia County residents the first Tuesday of each month (does not include Planetarium shows). MOAS is fully accessible to the handicapped. MOAS is located at 352 S. Nova Road, Daytona Beach, Florida 32114. For more information call 386.255.0285 or visit the website www.moas.org.

MOAS is a not‐for‐profit educational institution founded in 1955 and chartered by the State of Florida in 1962. The Museum is accredited by the American Alliance of Museums and is an affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution. Programs sponsored in part by the State of Florida, Division of Cultural Affairs, and the County of Volusia.

Exhibits and dates subject to change.