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Jurassic Festival Offered At Great Valley Museum
MAPS

Come and join the fun; all are invited to a free family festival sponsored by MAPS, Modesto Area Partners in Science, with the festival focus on dinosaurs.

The program is scheduled for Friday, Sept. 30 from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the Great Valley Museum and Nature Lab on the Modesto Junior College West Campus, 2201 Blue Gum Ave., Modesto. Attendees will explore the world of dinosaurs. There will be activities, games, and prizes for the whole family. Come try your luck at uncovering the fossilized remains of a dire wolf or a Tyrannosaurus rex in the Great Valley Museum dig pits, play “Name that Dinosaur” and create crafty artwork. It’s free and open to all ages

MAPS is also excited to host Taormina (Tara) Lepore, from UC Berkeley Museum of Paleontology before and after the festival. At 4 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., Lepore will discuss why we are fascinated by dinosaurs, what makes a dinosaur, and what we have learned from fossilized Tyrannosaurus droppings and dinosaur track ways. The 4 p.m. presentation is intended for a younger audience (K-8th grade) and is sure to entertain and educate the aspiring young archeologists in your family. The presentation at 7:30 p.m. will stimulate everyone else and is intended for people in 9th grade and beyond. Both presentations are free and will take place in Sierra Hall 132 located on the MJC West Campus. Seating is first come-first serve, so plan to arrive early.

Lepore just returned from a fossil dig in the Gobi Desert of Mongolia and was the recipient of the Outstanding Graduate Student Instructor Award in 2021.

For more information about MAPS, visit the webpage: https://www.mjc.edu/instruction/sme/maps.php