Event Details

Did you know that Illinois used to have elephants? During the last ice age, North America was home to a wide variety of large, now extinct, mammals Join us at the Lincoln Memorial Garden Nature Center at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday, November 9, 2024 to hear from Dr. Pardi, a vertebrate paleontologist and curator of Geology at the Illinois State Museum's Research & Collections Center, about fossil finds in Illinois and what they can teach us about the giants that used to live in our backyards. Open to all ages.

About the speaker: Dr. Pardi is a vertebrate paleontologist and curator of Geology at the Illinois State Museum's Research & Collections Center. She is originally from Connecticut, and moved to Springfield, IL for her job with the state museum in June 2020. She studies fossil mammals from the ice ages and also contributes to outreach and exhibits with the museum to communicate science to the public. Recently she curated an exhibit on climate change in the Midwest and contributed to a current exhibition on wildlife in our daily lives. Outside of the museum, her professional service is focused on supporting students in the sciences and strengthening diversity in her field of study. She teaching introductory earth science at the University of Illinois, Springfield and holds an Adjunct Research Position with the University of New Mexico, where she received her PhD in 2016. In addition to her work, she enjoys cooking at home and exploring the outdoors. She is a caver, and conducted her earliest research on fossils from caves. She has found community in Illinois as a member of the Near Normal Grotto, which is an active caving organization in Illinois.