From fossils to earthquakes, Ste. Gen museum releases dates for April events

The Sainte Genevieve Museum Learning Center has announced its events for the month of April, and visitors can expect a wide variety of learning opportunities.

The “Learning Center Presents” series continues on Saturday. At 1 p.m., Michael Fix will give a presentation about the New Madrid Fault.

The New Madrid Fault Zone is located in southeastern Missouri, northeastern Arkansas, western Tennessee, western Kentucky, and southern Illinois.

It is the most active seismic area in the United States east of the Rocky Mountains. The zone is famous for a series of three major earthquakes during a two-month period between 1811 and 1812.

On April 26, visitors are encouraged to visit the Official Missouri Dinosaur Visitor’s Site and see a scientist work on the bones of the juvenile Parrosaurus missouriensis. The Parrosaurus missouriensis is the official state dinosaur of Missouri and is a hadrosaur, a plant-eating, duck-billed dinosaur having more than 1,000 teeth when it lived.

That same day, from noon to 3 p.m. is Fossil ID Day. Guests are encourage to bring in fossils, rocks, teeth, bones, and other curio to get an expert’s opinion on what the items are, where they came from, and what the origin of the items are.

On April 29, the Museum will honor Bruce Stinchcomb with a day of appreciation starting at 1 p.m. Stinchcomb will give a presentation about 19th-century geologist David Dale Owen. Stinchcomb himself has 50 years of professional experience in geology.

At St. Louis Community College, Stinchcomb taught geology, paleontology, and earth sciences, retiring in 2005. Stinchcomb also taught at McCluer High School in Florissant and Fox C-6, and worked as a field geologist with the Missouri Geological Survey from 1962 to 1963.

The Stinchcomb appreciation day will also offer a panel discussion, refreshments, and free admission all day to the Museum Learning Center. Autographed books by Stinchcomb will be for sale.

For more information about the events visit either the Sainte Genevieve Museum Learning Center’s Facebook page or website, stegenmuseum.org.

Fossil hunter Guy Darrough works on a juvenile Parrosaurus missouriensis, in the laboratory of the Ste. Genevieve Museum and Learning Center in late 2021. During the Show-Me Dino Lab Days on April 26 visitors can watch the bones be revealed. 

Danielle Thurman is a reporter for the Daily Journal and can be contacted at dthurman@dailyjournalonline.com or 573-518-3616.