Resources
Resources on specialized topics are available on various pages of the Orton Museum website. The Digital Exhibits are a great place to learn more about what the Museum has to offer. The information is intended for a general audience, and parents may want to share information with their kids.
One popular topic is "The Minerals in Your Cell Phone," which both adults and kids will find to be of interest.
Links
Stories about the Orton Museum's collections are here.
Museum Tours
Tours of the Museum for adult groups, and talks aimed at adult audiences, are available upon request. Tours and talks must be arranged in advance through Dale Gnidovec, the Museum's Collections Manager and Curator (ortonmuseum@osu.edu). There is no charge for tours of the Museum.
Presentations on a variety of geologic subjects can be arranged. Sample presentation topics by Dale Gnidovec (614-292-6896 or gnidovec.1@osu.edu), are:
Introducing the Dinosaurs — how we find, excavate, and reconstruct these marvelous beasts.
Rocks & Minerals – how minerals are identified using their physical properties (shape, luster, color, hardness, etc.) and how rocks form (the rock cycle).
The Dinosaur Disaster — a look at the hypotheses that have been suggested to explain the extinction of the non-avian dinosaurs and other organisms at the end of the Mesozoic Era and discusses the evidence (or lack thereof) on which those ideas are based.
Ice Age Ohio — a look at the effects that glaciers have had on the landscape, as well as the causes of glaciation, and a review of the animals that lived in Ohio during the Pleistocene Ice Age.
A Paleontologist Looks at the Jurassic Park Movies — The dinosaurs and other prehistoric animals in the JP films are very lifelike, but how scientifically accurate are they? This talk discusses what the filmmakers got right and what they got wrong.
Crossbeds and Bones — a look at vertebrate taphonomy (how fossils form).
The Magnificent Morrison — a look at the Jurassic rock unit that has produced such well-known dinosaurs as Allosaurus, Apatosaurus, Camarasaurus, Diplodocus, and Stegosaurus from famous sites such as Dinosaur National Monument.
Oil Rigs to Dinosaur Digs: Careers in Geology —a look at some of the many careers open to geologists.
Teeth, Jaws & Claws – the Carnivorous Dinosaurs and Why Birds Are Dinosaurs — a look at the tremendous diversity of theropods, the carnivorous dinosaurs, and why many scientists think that birds are living dinosaurs.
A Long Time Ago and Far Away – the Geologic History of Ohio — a look at the many geologic changes Ohio has witnessed over the last 500 million years.