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Press release
Niagara History Center is happy to announce the return of its “Free Family Nights” at the museum complex at 215 Niagara St., Lockport. “Local Fossils & Dino Hunter” will take place from 5:30-7:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 24. Pizza, bottled water and a dessert will be served 5:30-6 p.m., followed by brief presentation and a hands-on activity for kids ages 5 to 12.
The focus of the evening will be about fossils found in the Niagara Escarpment during the excavation of the Erie Canal and how that influenced Othniel Marsh, Lockport resident, to pursue a career as a paleontologist, aka “Dinosaur Hunter.”
As a young boy in the 1830s and 1840s, Marsh collected fossil specimens in the rock debris left on the banks of the canal along the Deep Cut.
A brief presentation will highlight some locally found fossils, Marsh’s career and the dinosaurs he discovered in the Badlands of the Dakota Territory in the late 19th century. Following this, each child will receive a “Dino Dig Kit” with a plaster mold containing a plastic dinosaur skeleton that can be excavated with the tools in the kit. A limit of 20 children is the maximum for the kits. Each child will also receive a real fossil to take home (these fossils are not from the Niagara Escarpment).
This is a free event, but preregistration is required and can be made by calling or emailing the Niagara History Center at 716-434-7433 or info@niagarahistory.org. Although this is a free event, donations are welcome to help cover the cost of the dinner.
Additional family nights are planned for April and May.
1859 Whitehaven Road, Grand Island, NY 14072
Phone: 716-773-7676
Fax: 716-773-7190
