Every fall, vertebrate paleontologists from around the world come together for the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology annual meeting. This year’s conference in Toronto, Canada provided an opportunity to share research, catch up with colleagues, and build new connections. Ten FHSU faculty, staff, students, and alumni were able to make the meeting, including three current students and two museum staff members. Sternberg Camps Director David Levering organized an education symposium entitled “International Community Connections” in which he co-authored a presentation about teaching high school summer campers science skills using online platforms. Curator of Paleontology Dr. Laura Wilson also presented in this symposium with two FHSU Geosciences undergraduate students, current senior Kaiden O’Dell and recent graduate Riley Sanford. Their presentation shared experiences teaching and learning science communication skills in the classroom. Geosciences graduate student Shyla Davison gave a talk to fellow museum professionals on “Examining data collection, archiving protocols, and data accessibility in fossil preparation labs”. Alec Zaborniak, also a second-year graduate student in Geosciences, presented on his research reconstructing mosasaur paleoecology in the Western Interior Seaway that covered central North America ~80 million years ago.

FHSU and the Sternberg Museum made a splash this year, growing our reputation as a leader in Western Interior Seaway research, museum studies, and science education. We are immensely proud of all our students and alumni!