2018

April Outreach Program

On April 22, 2018 John Mellott was invited to give a 1½-hour presentation to the Obsidians Hiking Club in Eugene. The presentation focused on a) shells that can be found in Oregon (marine, freshwater and terrestrial), b) fossil shells in Oregon, and where to find them, c) invasive species threats from snails and bivalves, d) some scams involving shells that occur at some foreign airports, e) and challenges in trying to bring shells and shell fossils back to the United States from certain other countries. Thirty five or more people attended the presentation. Some brought shell fossils for identification.

June Guest Speaker

Paleontologist Guy DiTorrice, aka "Oregon Fossil Guy" presented the program “Fossil Shells of the Oregon Coast “or” You’ll Never Walk on the Beach the Same Again.” Mr. DiTorrice showed slides of many different types of fossilized shells from the Miocene Epoch, all found on Oregon beaches. We gained a new respect for the gray, rounded, seemingly nondescript beach rocks abounding on the sand, especially those that have weathered out of cliff faces. We learned that many of them contain fossils of shells that lived in the sea millions of years ago.

Oregon State Fair