The Schiele -- Jack Horner Paleontologist Guest Lectures

Hatching the Past: Jack Horner

Related Events

Dinosaur News

Fossil Fair!!!!
Feb. 27 & 28
9 am - 5 pm
at The Schiele
Feb. 29
1 - 5 pm
at The Schiele
$7 adults; $5 seniors & students (also includes museum fair and exhibit fees)

Horner — Family Presentation
Sat., Feb. 28, 2004
at The Schiele; $5 a person

Autograph!
Sat., Feb 28th, Get the picture autographed by Horner (showing Horner & the tepees, at right) with purchased copies of Hunting Dinosaurs at The Schiele Museum Store

Horner —
Adult Lecture
Fri., Feb. 27, 2004
at Gaston College;
$8 in advance; $10 at door

Limited seating to both events —
Order Now!

Hatching the Past exhibit

   One of the America's best-known paleontologists, Jack Horner discovered his first dinosaur fossil when he was eight years old. Horner has made some of the most important recent dinosaur discoveries, written several books about his discoveries and theories, and served as a technical adviser for such movies as Jurassic Park, The Lost World (Jurassic Park II), and Jurassic Park III.
   He recently discovered the largest Tyrannosaurus Rex fossil ever that greatly exceeds the highly publicized 42-foot Tyrannosaurus Sue (now displayed at the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago)
   While suffering from undiagnosed dyslexia — Horner said his brain worked best when it could "hunt, poke, and dig-around" through science. It was through digging around that Horner made his first great discovery.
   In the mid-1970s, Horner and Bob Makela discovered a

Did you know?
Jack Horner calls many common dinosaurs —
the "cows of the Mesozoic" because he believes they traveled in
herds.

large number of dinosaur nests containing duckbill-like dinosaur fossils. They named the new dinosaur Maiasaura, which means "good mother lizards." Horner observed even spacing between the nests and trampled eggshells within suggested that the nests were part of an organized colony, not the result of nesting in a different spot each year. He also determined that there would have been a lack of vegetation in the area of the nests. Using these clues, Horner theorized that the mother dinosaurs found food elsewhere and brought it back to their young while they cared for them in the nest — the first evidence of parental care by dinosaurs.
Horner's next discovery came in 1988 while working with anatomist David Weishampel when they found more dinosaur eggs in Montana. The unhatched eggs, estimated to be 75 million years old, contained fossilized skeletons of dinosaur embryos.

In addition to finding more of the Maiasaura, the eggs also contained a previously unknown kind of dinosaur. They named it Orodromeus, which means "mountain runner" — it stood on two legs, matured rapidly, and appears able to search for food shortly after being hatched.
Most recently, Horner discovered the largest Tyrannosaurus rex (T. rex) to date at 10-13 tons (22,000–28,600 lbs.). The T. rex was discovered with five other T. rex fossils in the Hell Creek area in Montana. Horner had previously suggested that perhaps this "King of the Dinosaurs" was really more of a scavenger than a predator. Among Jack Horner's finds is the oldest T. rex ever discovered. At 68 million years, it's three million years older than any other specimen.
Jack Horner currently serves as the curator of paleontology at Montana's Museum of the Rockies at the University of Montana, where he also teaches.

Fossil Fair
Come to the Fossil Fair at The Schiele from Friday, Feb. 27th through Sunday, Feb. 29th. There will be fossil displays, fossil vendors, a mini-fossil hunt and much more for all ages! The costs on those days for the museum admission, fossil fair and the Hatching the Past Exhibit is $7 for adults, and $5 for seniors and students.

Hatching The Past
Be sure to come to The Schiele to

see the unique exhibit of dinosaur eggs, embryos and baby fossils, now open through this Spring — Hatching the Past. The admission fee is $3 adult and $2 students and seniors.
In addition to the exhibit, The Schiele is having Jack Horner available for two presentations — an adult/older students on Friday evening, Feb. 27th, and a family presentation suitable for children of all ages on Saturday, Feb. 28th.

The Dean of Dinosaurs
Appears At The Schiele
Friday, 7 PM, Feb. 27th, 2004
John R. "Jack" Horner
Paleontologist
Adult Lecture at Myers Hall,
Gaston College
Limited Seating - $8 in advance; $10 at door
Order Tickets Early
call 704-866-6924

Paleontologist Jack Horner

Sat., 10 am & 1 pm,
Feb. 28th, 2004
Jack Horner
Family Lecture at
The Schiele — 10 AM & 1 PM; $5 per person
Limited Seating -
Order Tickets Early
call 704-866-6924
When Horner is not digging up fossils, publishing his discoveries, or producing TV series, he can be found teaching children to appreciate science. He challenges children to argue with him about his ideas and to seek out evidence to support their arguments. He explains, "Science is a process. It is not a body of knowledge." He also believes, "The most important thing you can do is to teach children that it's just as OK to be wrong as it is to be right because you never know if you're right."
Be sure to register early for Jack Horner's Family Presentations on Saturday, Feb. 28th, 2004, at The Schiele. Don't miss this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to hear one of America's original dinosaur theorists and leading field researcher.