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Paleontology at Carthage College, Kenosha, WI

This blog contains direct quotes from websites as of 2023. Programs and policies do change, at colleges, from time to time, so please check with the colleges directly to receive any updates. These are not, necessarily, the biggest, best, or most popular programs at the college, but they are the ones that just “caught my eye” as unique, special, interesting, or just plain awesome. Enjoy!


From the Carthage College website, 2023: “Carthage students who are interested in paleontology — the study of the history of life on Earth through fossils — have the opportunity to study under a vertebrate paleontologist and get hands-on field experience that is unusual in undergraduate programs.



“LEARN FROM PALEONTOLOGISTS

The paleontology program is co-led by Prof. Thomas Carr, assistant professor of biology, and Dr. Megan Seitz, preparator of the Carthage Institute of Paleontology (CIP). Prof. Carr is a vertebrate paleontologist (studies fossils of animals with backbones) and a recognized expert on tyrannosaurid dinosaurs. Dr. Seitz is a paleontologist who trains students in lab techniques on authentic dinosaur fossils.


“’Carthage has one of the few undergraduate paleontology programs in the country. With a field course, fossil preparation lab, and a museum full of giant predatory dinosaurs, Carthage seemed like a no-brainer.’---Nathan Cochran ’23


“Prof. Carr is also the senior scientific advisor for the Dinosaur Discovery Museum (DDM) in downtown Kenosha, which houses the CIP run by Dr. Seitz. A noted professional researcher on dinosaurs, Prof. Carr has been featured on the National Geographic Channel, in popular publications, and as curator for museum exhibits, including the “Feathered Dinosaur” exhibit at the Royal Ontario Museum. Dr. Seitz has co-led the field expeditions since 2011, and she has trained numerous students and citizen scientists in the lab and field.” Dr. Seitz runs the lab housed in the DDM.


“COLLECT THE BONES OF DINOSAURS SUCH AS T. REX & TRICERATOPS

The CIP leads a month-long dinosaur-hunting expedition to southeastern Montana led by Prof. Carr and Dr. Seitz. Carthage students have the opportunity to discover and collect in the Hell Creek Formation, a unit of rock deposited in Montana and adjacent states at the end of the age of dinosaurs. The expeditions take place on public lands overseen by the Bureau of Land Management.


“Since the expedition started, the crews of Prof. Carr and Dr. Seitz have located dozens of dinosaur skeletons. So far, they have cataloged 110,000 fossils that include teeth, bones, and scales of dinosaurs, crocs, turtles, fish, birds, and mammals. The dinosaurs include rare juvenile Triceratops and T. rex. Bones collected during the expedition are brought back to the CIP, where the fossils are prepared and conserved by Dr. Seitz, student volunteers, and citizen scientists. The fossils are stored in the permanent collections of the DDM, which is a federal repository for paleontological resources.”


Carthage is one of the featured colleges in my new book (click image for additional information):



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