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If you are not a member and are visiting this web site, we hope that you will join us. Come to some of our meetings and visit with our members. We have excellent speakers, presentations, and socializing starting at 7 pm most first Mondays of the month (September to May) in Ricketson Auditorium at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science.

The doors to the west entrance of the museum will be opened until 7:30. After that they will be locked. These doors have to be guarded while they are unlocked so a WIPS volunteer will be watching the entrance until the program begins. No food or beverages are allowed in this atrium.

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DMNS Teen Science Scholars: the next genetration
Dr. Richard Stucky, Tom Nolan & the kids from the Teen Scholars Program

Monday,February 6,2012 7:00 pm

Richard and teensThe Western Interior Paleontological Society (WIPS) is pleased to present this exciting program highlighting the work of Dr. Richard Stucky, Tom Nolan and the young Teen Science Scholars as they tell us about their experiences, research and adventures at Snowmass Village, Colorado. Tom Nolan and this group are WIPS grant recipients, and are fulfilling the mission of our organization (and the museum's), which is to promote paleontology, further scientific research and work to promote educational opportunities for young people who want to go into scientific fields of study. The Teen Science Scholars Program is unique to the Denver Museum of Nature & Science and was started five years ago under the direction of Dr. Richard Stucky. The program began in the Department of Earth Sciences with an emphasis on paleontology, but has expanded to include the Departments of Anthropology, Zoology and Health Sciences. Scholars are selected based upon academic performance, a personal objective to pursue an interest or career in science, recommendations regarding their leadership and scientific interests, and their potential to be future community leaders. Special emphasis is placed on students who are underrepresented in the sciences, including women and minorities, and those who will become the first in their family to attend college. The scholars are paid by the museum for the summer and spend two weeks in the field and six weeks preparing, identifying and cataloging the specimens they collected.

The objective of the program is to provide an authentic research experience that results in the development of new scientific knowledge and helps students understand the process of science.Of the 27 students (age 15 to 18) that have participated in the program, almost all have gone on to college and 50% have chosen a science or engineering career path. The remainder has gone to college but has not yet declared aTom with the Golden Brain major area of study. One student will graduate from Montana State University this year with a degree in geology and paleontology and has applied at three graduate programs. Twelve students have published or presented a paper at a scientific meeting on paleontology. Please join us for this very special evening with very special scholars representing “the next generation” of paleontologists and, hopefully, future WIPS members. We are very proud of them!

About our Speakers Dr. Richard Stucky is the Denver Museum of Nature & Science Curator of Paleoecology & Evolution. Richard came to the DMNS in 1989 from the Carnegie Museum as the department head for Earth Sciences. He is a paleontologist who studies the evolution of mammals and reptiles, and their responses to climate change over time. He is a co-creator of the Prehistoric Journey exhibit at the DMNS, a teacher, a field trip leader, founder of the Paleontology Certification Program at the museum and a mentor and field school instructor for many WIPS members. We have all benefited from working with Richard and, like the Teen Science Scholars, he has shown us the value of doing REAL science and infused us with the excitement of discovery. Tom Nolan is a long-time WIPS member and a graduate of the Paleontology Certification Program at the DMNS (1998). He has been a volunteer in the museum’s Paleo Lab for 15 years. Tom is a past president of WIPS, has published a technical scientific paper, coauthored a report with Dr. Russ Graham on the Bones Galore site, and, for 15 years, has participated in fieldwork on various DMNS excavations. He has been the cook for the Teen Science Scholars, DMNS, and WIPS during many field seasons, and he is also the recipient of the Department of Earth Science's coveted “Golden Brain Award” (2011).