Keynote Speaker: Dr. Jingmai O’Connor

Join us for the PaleoFest Evening Event

This special event features a keynote talk, music and cocktail hour, and a wonderful dinner with other science enthusiasts and museum supporters!

Location:

• 737 North Main Street, Rockfor IL
• Burpee Museum of Natural History
• Woodward Hall

Schedule of Events

• • 5:00 pm-5:20 Priority Seating for VIP Guests 
  • 5:20-6:30 pm Mixer
  • 6:30 pm Dinner Served
  • 7:30 pm Keynote Speaker Presentation

Talk Title

Archaeopteryx: Food for flight

There are several reasons why Archaeopteryx is arguably the most important fossil of all time. One of them is that it is the oldest dinosaur to use feathered wings to fly. Flying is hard! Learn what Archaeopteryx tells us about how dinosaurs adapted for the sky and were able to get enough food to fly.

Bio: Jingmai O’Connor is the Associate Curator of Fossil Reptiles at the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago. She studies the transition from terrestrial dinosaur to flying bird dinosaur, the evolution of the biologically modern bird, and the selectivity of the end-Cretaceous mass extinction, in which only a few birds among all dinosaurs survived. Jingmai is a ‘researchaholic’ and has written over 160 scientific papers describing nearly 50 new species. She has also written an award-winning children’s book, “When Dinosaurs Conquered the Skies.” She loves good food, dancing, and her two dogs.