The San Bernardino County Museum

RESURRECTING THE REALLY, REALLY DEAD

How do we know what sounds the dinosaurs made? How do we know that some of largest land mammals (elephants) and some of the smallest (elephant shrews) are close relatives? How do we know about the hunting tactics used by extinct Dire Wolves and Saber-toothed cats? Curator of Geology Chris Sagebiel will answer the often-asked question, “how do we know?” in a lecture called “Resurrecting the Really, Really Dead” at the San Bernardino County Museum on Sunday, June 12 at 2:00 p.m. The talk is free with museum general admission.

His talk will be the first in a year-long series of previews to the museum’s planned Hall of Geological Wonders. The new Hall of Geological Wonders will be a geologic tapestry woven with threads of minerals, rocks and fossils. The curators have designed exhibits that interpret our geological specimens in a scientific context. The result will be a hall filled with rich, dynamic exhibits that excite, educate and entertain.

"How Do We Know?" is one of the major themes that will run throughout the new exhibits. Sagebiel will discuss how paleontologists use different scientific tools such as geology, chemistry, the genetic code, and anatomy to reconstruct extinct animals and their life histories. In effect, paleontologists are resurrecting the really, really dead, so that the dead can answer questions for us.

Chris Sagebiel is a graduate of the University of Texas, where he earned a Masters Degree in Geology with an emphasis on fossil mammals. After working with the Texas Memorial Museum, Texas Parks and Wildlife, and the Texas Archaeological Research Laboratory, he joined the staff at the San Bernardino County Museum as a collections manager in the geological sciences division and currently serves as the museum’s curator of geology. Sagebiel is pursuing a Ph.D. at the University of California, Riverside in the Graduate Group in Genetics, Genomics, and Bioinformatics, studying an array of extinct mammals from South America.

The San Bernardino County Museum is at the California Street exit from Interstate 10. The museum is open Tuesdays through Sundays and holiday Mondays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is $6 (adult), $5 (senior or student) and $4 (child aged 5-12). Children under 5 and Museum Association members are admitted free. Parking is free. Snacks and beverages are available at the museum’s Garden Café from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. For more information, visit www.sbcountymuseum.org or call (909) 307-2669 / TDD/TTY: (909) 792-1462.

The San Bernardino County Museum is accessible to persons with disabilities. If assistive listening devices or other auxiliary aids are needed in order to participate in museum exhibits or programs, requests should be made through Museum Visitor Services at least three business days prior to your visit. Visitor Services’ telephone number is (909) 307-2669 ext. 229 / TDD/TTY: (909) 792-1462.