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'Dinosaurs & Disasters' draws record crowd

By LISA MUNGER/Lincoln Journal Star
Saturday, Feb 02, 2008 - 06:26:56 pm CST
Using a handmade model, eighth-grader Jacob McKee demonstrated how scientists with the ANDRILL project drill  through Antarctic ice, sea and ocean floor to gather information about climate change.

His was just one of many displays at the fourth annual “Dinosaurs & Disasters” event held Saturday at Morrill Hall.

University students and faculty created games and staffed booths, offering demonstrations on things like volcanoes, tornadoes, avalanches and tsunamis.

Hosted by the University of Nebraska State Museum and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Department of Geosciences, the event drew a record crowd of more than 2,000.

This year’s theme, “Global Climate Change: Polar Regions,”   featured hands-on activities.

The focus was on the ANDRILL program, a multinational collaboration to better understand past climate changes.

Mary Anne Holmes, a professor in UNL’s geosciences department, said UNL students have grown more interested in the event every year.

“I used to have to twist arms,” she said. “This year, I had students looking forward to being involved, energized.”

Reach Lisa Munger at lmunger@journalstar.com.