WHAT: The Rutgers Geology Museum’s 47th annual open house, featuring general-interest presentations by scientists, rock and mineral identification programs, a mineral sale and hands-on activities for children

WHEN: Saturday, Jan. 31, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

WHERE: Scott Hall, 43 College Ave., and the Geology Museum, corner of College Avenue and Somerset Street, on Rutgers University’s College Avenue Campus, New Brunswick, N.J. Specific room assignments for each event can be found by following the open house link under the events tab at geologymuseum.rutgers.edu.

Geology Museum

 
Photo: Nick Romanenko, Rutgers University

BACKGROUND: The following general-interest presentations about contemporary research are scheduled:

  • A Dip in the Ocean: An Interactive Exploration of How the Ocean Impacts You and How You Impact the Ocean, Janice McDonnell, Marine and Coastal Sciences, Rutgers. 10 a.m.
  • Extremophilic Environments and Microbial Diversity Within, Ramaydalis Keddis, General Studies, Kean University. 11:30 a.m.
  • Earth’s Cocktail Party: Deciphering the Physics of Earthquakes with Networks of Seismic Arrays, Jean-Paul Ampuero, Seismological Laboratory, California Institute of Technology. 1:30 p.m.
  • The Art of the Geological Map, Don Monteverde, Earth and Planetary Sciences, Rutgers; New Jersey Geological and Water Survey. 3 p.m.

Once again, there will be a mineral sale and a rock and mineral identification program. Participants may bring in their own samples for professional examination. Children’s activities will include lectures about the latest discoveries in science as well as arts and crafts with geology, anthropology and natural history themes.

The Rutgers Geology Museum Open House was started in 1968 as part of the museum’s efforts to make the earth sciences accessible to students, scholars and the public. Educators who attend the museum’s presentations can receive credit toward their professional development requirements.