sloth program saturday

The Iowa Academy of Science Speaker Series at the Saylorville Visitor Center begins this Saturday, June 20th at 2:00 p.m. This event is open to the public free of charge and children are encouraged to attend.

Title: The Tarkio Valley Iowa Giant Ground Sloths: Life and Death in the Ice Ages.

Ground sloths may be extinct but they aren’t dead. The footsteps of these recently-departed elephant-sized Ice Age giants continue to echo through Iowa’s woodlands with important implications for today and the future under global warming. Holmes A. Semken, Jr. Emeritus Professor of Geoscience , University of Iowa, and Principle Investigator on the Tarkio Valley Sloth Project and David Brenzel, Co-PI, will discuss the excavation, which has been on-going since 2003, recovering the world’s only Jefferson’s sloth-family, including the most complete adult and second-most complete juvenile of the species ever found, and research progess to-date.  Join David Brenzel and Holmes Semken as they tell the story of the Tarkio Valley Iowa excavation. The presentation will include a “show and tell” display of bones that children and adults will enjoy.

The Iowa Academy of Science is a 501 (c) (3) non-profit organization promoting science research, science education, the public understanding of science, and awards excellence in these endeavors.

We hope to see you Saturday at the Saylorville Visitor Center for this informative presentation. Bring the entire family.

For more information

Craig Johnson, Executive Director
Iowa Academy of Science
175 Baker Hall
University of Northern Iowa
Cedar Falls, IA 50614-0508