Dinosaur symposium at the Smithsonian Institution

Dec. 13 - 14 at the Natural History Museum

The public symposium, organized and hosted by Smithsonian dinosaur curator Dr. Matthew Carrano, will present speakers from 11 universities and museums around the world. They will discuss a wide variety of topics in dinosaur science including dinosaur growth, diet and health, as well as the world in which they lived.

On Dec. 13, experts will discuss various aspects of dinosaur biology and present a roadmap for new theories and discoveries in the coming decades. Several of the 30-minute talks will be followed by a question-and-answer session. The lectures begin at 9 a.m. and continue until 4:45 p.m.

On Dec. 14, world-famous dinosaur paleontologist Jack Horner will kick off the second day of the symposium with the keynote speech at noon. Horner is the curator of paleontology at the Museum of the Rockies in Bozeman, MT. He is also a senior scholar at the Smithsonian Institution. His talk, "Dinosaur Science in the 21st Century," will be followed by a moderated roundtable discussion.

From 3-5 p.m., Smithsonian paleontologists will give a series of talks about "The World of Dinosaurs." These talks will cover topics ranging from the origin of flowers, ancient plants and flowers, prehistoric insects, and the extinction of dinosaurs.

Visitors may also enjoy the museum's Dinosaur Hall, eating at the Fossil Caf�, or shopping at the TriceraShop, a special museum shop devoted to dinosaur-related toys, clothing, books and more.

The Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History is located at 10th Street and Constitution Ave, N.W. in Washington, D.C. Museum hours are 10 a.m. - 5:30 p.m. every day. Admission is free.