POSTPONED Natural History Festival

Date:
9/16/2017 at 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM

Event Description

Due to the effects of Hurricane Irma felt locally and statewide, the Natural History Festival has been postponed. 

 

Join us for our annual celebration of all things natural history. Enjoy natural history specimens on display from rarely seen MOAS collections with many examples of fossils, mollusks, corals, insects, and more. Enjoy the various exhibitors that will have displays set up around the Museum. Various presentations will take place hourly throughout the day. 

Free for members or with paid museum admission.

Schedule:

10:00am: Fossil Hunters TV Show
Have you tuned into Fossil Hunters on Wednesday evenings at 7:30 p.m.? Here is your chance to meet the cast! Join Zach, Allison, Dave, Trish, John, Linda, Don, and April, as they share a video summary of their first season of discoveries, highlighting the only television series being broadcasted on fossil hunting. Various guest fossil hunters from the series will be in attendance as well. See some of the most exciting adventures that these "fossil heads" have had over the last two years. Enjoy a Q&A with the cast after the video presentation. 

11:00am: River of Grass, River of Time: The State of the Everglades in 2017
There is only one Everglades, but the future of this natural treasure is uncertain. Join Clayton Ferrara, Executive Director of the United Nations Accredited NGO, IDEAS for Us, and learn about the history, troubled past, and unfolding future of the real Florida's most celebrated natural treasure.

12:00pm: The Diversity of Volusia's Ecosystems
Learn about the large variety of ecosystems that make up Volusia County from mangrove estuaries and pine uplands, to salt marshes. Join Dr. Don Spence, Associate Professor of Biology, Bethune-Cookman University Plant Ecologist and Plant Pathologist on an ecological journey throughout the county and discover our many natural wonders.

1:00pm: A Short History of Nearly Everything
Join Jeff Rogers, Provost of the South Florida Museum, for a fascinating scientific journey from "nothing" to the world we see around us today. Along the way, you will take a look at the Big Bang, the origins of matter and energy, the first stars, the creation of elements, the formation of habitable planets, the origins and evolution of life, and the uniquely human adaptations that have allowed us to forge our modern world. 

2:00pm: Smithsonian Environmental Research in the Indian River Lagoon
Often recognized as the most biodiverse estuary in the continental United States, the Indian River Lagoon (IRL) is part of the longest barrier island complex in the United States, spanning 156 miles from Ponce de Leon Inlet in the Mosquito Lagoon, to Jupiter Inlet near West Palm Beach. Dr. Valeri Paul, Director of the Smithsonian Marine Station at Fort Pierce, will discuss the ongoing research activities at the Smithsonian Marine Station and other research organizations focused on the IRL that include better understanding the factors causing harmful algal blooms, their persistence and termination, documentation, environmental effects, and understanding the role that bivalves and other invertebrates play in maintaining the health of the IRL.

Location:
Museum of Arts & Sciences
352 S. Nova Rd
Daytona Beach FL 32114
Phone:
2024 Exhibit Sponsors
Sponsored in part by the State of Florida, Department of State, Division of Arts and Culture, the Florida Council on Arts and Culture, and the National Endowment for the Arts.