Geier Center

History
Collection Holdings
Current Research Activities
Research Facilities
Student & Volunteer Opportunities
Staff
Amateur Associations

Overview

The Vertebrate Paleontology Department of the Museum of Natural History & Science collects fossil vertebrate remains with special emphasis on Paleozoic and Pleistocene material from the middle Ohio Valley tri-state area (Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana). Acknowledging the popular interest in vertebrate fossils and the need for comparative materials, well-preserved specimens are collected from all geologic horizons and geographic areas in keeping with the Museum's role as a center of vertebrate paleontological research and education for the region. The collection houses representative specimens and casts of most major groups for research, teaching and exhibit purposes. The Museum collects actively in this subject area, and accepts unrestricted private donations and deposits of orphaned institutional collections. Particularly sought are specimens of high quality that either fill a significant gap in the collections, complement existing research foci, or specimens whose removal from the public domain would represent a serious loss to the scientific community and the general public.

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History

The collections were begun under the guidance of prominent Cincinnati physician Daniel Drake and The Western Museum Society in 1818 and continued by members of the Western Academy of Natural Sciences (1835), the Cincinnati Society of Natural History (1870) and the Cincinnati Museum of Natural History (1957). All of these institutions were predecessors and lineal ancestors of Cincinnati Museum Center. The 1998 transfer of the University of Cincinnati paleontology collection (begun in 1907) to the Museum and an intensive program of research-oriented excavations has created the lower Ohio Valley's largest vertebrate fossil collection, numbering approximately 30,000 specimens (over 8,000 of which are currently catalogued on the Museum's ARGUS server). The university collection includes specimens amassed by the Dry Dredgers Association of Amateur Geologists & Fossil Collectors, the oldest amateur paleontology society in the United States, founded in 1942.

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Collection Holdings

The combined collection is particularly strong in local Pleistocene and Holocene fossils, including material from Big Bone Lick, Kentucky (America's first documented fossil locality). A large and important suite of late Wisconsinan specimens from Sheridan Pit, Indian Trail Caverns, Wyandotte County, Ohio was collected in the early 1990s. Also represented are significant Devonian and Carboniferous holdings, as well as a broad collection of comparative material from around the world. Growing strengths include collections of Mesozoic marine vertebrates, particularly from the Middle Triassic of Nevada and the Niobrara Cretaceous of Kansas, and a juvenile sauropod assemblage from the Morrison Formation of Montana. The Ken Caster/Donald Baird cast collection of vertebrate ichnofossils is also notable. Specimens in the Museum's collection are available to qualified individuals for research and educational use via appointment.

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Research Facilities

Several fossil preparation and study laboratories are equipped with binocular microscopes, a camera lucida, standard pneumatic tools including air-scribes and airbrasive machines, rock saws, grinders, fume hoods and particle collectors. A separate wet lab allows for sediment processing and screen washing procedures. A casting and molding laboratory is maintained by the Exhibits Department. The Geier Collections & Research Center also houses a darkroom with standard photographic facilities, a 5,000 plus volume science research library, field lockers and a complete range of collecting equipment, including field vehicles. The collection is held in a dedicated 5,800 square foot room that is equipped with regulated HV/AC, sprinklers, fire-rated doors, a monitored security system, study desks, a large paleontological reprint library and a terminal to the Museum's ARGUS cataloging server. Collection storage includes 1,600 square feet of shelf space and nearly 7,000 square feet of cabinet storage exclusive of planned expansion space.

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Current Research Activities

Field projects include excavations for Mississippian-age vertebrates from a non-marine Chesterian section in central Kentucky, salvage operations for regional Pleistocene vertebrates, recovery of fish remains from a variety of marine Devonian settings in Ohio and Kentucky, and excavation of dinosaurs in the Morrison and Formation of Wyoming and Montana. Department staff is actively investigating phylogenetic, taphonomic and paleoenvironmental problems associated with these field activities.

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Student and Volunteer Opportunities

A program of study in paleontology is offered through the University of Cincinnati where CMC scientists hold adjunct appointments. Undergraduate degrees as well as graduate programs leading to the M.S. and Ph.D. degrees are offered. For more information, contact the UC Department of Geology.

The Cincinnati Museum Center offers local residents the chance to participate in ongoing research and curatorial projects in vertebrate paleontology through its award-winning volunteer program. Opportunities range from data entry, to specimen preparation and conservation, to collection of fossils in the field. For more information, contact the Volunteer Program at (513) 287-7025.

The more adventurous may wish to participate in our Dinosaur Field School, held annually in Montana. Information and reservations are available at (513) 287-7021.

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Staff

Glenn W. Storrs, Ph.D., Yale University, 1986
Assistant Vice President of Natural History and Science & Withrow Farny Curator of Vertebrate Paleontology
Adjunct Professor, University of Cincinnati
Office: Cincinnati Museum Center, Geier Collections & Research Center
1301 Western Avenue
Cincinnati, OH 45203
Phone: (513) 455-7141
Fax: (513) 287-7095
Toll-free: (800) 733-2077 x7141
E-mail: storrsg@cincymuseum.org
Bio and Publications

Mason Jane Milam
Paleontology Technician
Office: Cincinnati Museum Center, Geier Collections & Research Center
1301 Western Avenue
Cincinnati, OH 45203
Phone: (513) 455-7175
Fax: (513) 455-7169
Toll-free: (800) 733-2077 x7175
E-mail: mmilam@cincymuseum.org

Adjunct Staff:
William Anyonge, Ph.D., Research Associate
Assistant Professor, Department of Biology
Xavier University
3800 Victory Parkway
Cincinnati, OH 45207
Phone: (513) 745-3752
E-mail: anyonge@xu.edu

Charlotte Cox, Preparation Laboratory Manager
Office: Cincinnati Museum Center
1301 Western Avenue
Cincinnati, OH 45203
Phone: (513) 763-2307

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Amateur Associations

Cincinnati Museum Center cooperates with regional paleontological societies, enabling local enthusiasts to participate in the activities of the department and to advance their own interests in any aspect of paleontology. Field trips and instruction in collecting/conservation techniques are sponsored by the Museum and by these societies.

The Dry Dredgers, an association of amateur geologists and fossil collectors in the Cincinnati area, holds meetings and lectures in 207 Braunstein Hall, University of Cincinnati, at 8 p.m. on the fourth Friday of each month. In addition to trips and workshops, the Dredgers publish a monthly newsletter and provide representative fossil sets to local schools.

The Kentucky Paleontological Society holds combined meetings and lectures in Room 102, Mines and Mineral Resources Building, Rose Street and Clifton Circle, Kentucky Geological Survey, University of Kentucky, at 7:30 p.m. on the fourth Friday of each month. The KPS organizes trips and publishes a monthly newsletter.

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