Kids growing up today will probably see the awful sequels to Jurassic Park before the original, a movie which helped a generation realize Earth’s incredible history. Luckily, the Texas Memorial Museum’s Family Fossil Fun Day picked up Hollywood’s slack and sparked future paleontologists’ imaginations.
The sixth Family Fossil Fun Day took place Sunday afternoon at the Texas Memorial Museum on campus. The alliteration-heavy event gave families a chance to learn about fossils by attending a number of activities — some led by professionals in the field of paleontology — and fossil-themed arts and crafts.
UT professor Pamela Owen, one of the organizers of the event, said it was a great way to bring people to the museum.
“It’s a way to get the public excited about fossils in a fun way,” Owen said. “[It’s] a way a family could bring all the kids and foster an interest in paleontology and appreciation of nature.”
The event drew a large crowd of parents, grandparents and children of all ages. Attendees participated in activities including a fossil dig pit located outside the museum and a presentation of tools paleontologists use.
Family Fossil Fun Day attendee Edward Doan, along with his wife and 3-year-old daughter, came to the event at his daughter’s insistence.
“I’ve always been at UT, first as a student and now as an adjunct professor, and I’ve always seen this place passing by,” Doan said. “Now that I have a daughter, she wants to see dinosaurs.”
Much of the event was inspired by the museum’s content. Even the Cretaceous bean-bag toss activity used cardboard cut-outs of animals the museum actually has on exhibit.
And while it could have been easy for the subject matter to go over attendees’ heads, Owen took special care to make sure everything was geared toward its young audience.
Even if much of the audience wasn’t able to say “invertebrate paleontologist,” they were able to understand what was going on during Ann Molineux’s presentation, “The Case of the Missing Clam.”
“[The talks] aren’t a lecture, they’re a way to talk about various topics,” Owen said.
Family Fossil Fun Day was Texas Memorial Museum’s contribution to Austin Museum Day, a collaborative effort between 37 local museums aimed to garner interest in Austin’s huge assortment of museums. Every participating museum is free on Austin Museum Day, with many sponsoring special events. The day offers exposure to smaller museums that would otherwise be unable to advertise to a large portion of the general public.
“There’s been a lot more people here for the event day,” said Melissa Mueller, an anthropology senior who works at the museum and was demonstrating the painstaking work of picking through bone fragments for interested attendees all day.
“Kids can ask the hard questions to professionals that their parents may not be able to answer,” Owen said. “It’s mixing in science with fun.”
