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Tours and talks will walk participants through the natural history of Nebraska's Sand Hills next week in Ainsworth.
The ninth annual Sand Hills Discovery Experience July 8 centers on an “Ashes in the Sand Hills” theme, looking at climate, paleontology and other topics.
The event attracts about 100 people from across the state, said Dick Albrecht of Ainsworth, chairman of the Sand Hills Discovery Foundation.
Speakers include Bob Diffendal, retired University of Nebraska-Lincoln geologist; Al Dutcher, state climatologist; Shane Tucker, UNL highway salvage paleontologist; Stan Lewis, St. Cloud State University paleontologist; and retired Hastings College educator Will Locke.
Exhibitors and vendors, a continental breakfast and a catered lunch are included in the day's activities at the high school.
Optional events July 7 and 9 include guided tours to fossil digs, Sand Hills lakes, prescribed burn sites in the Niobrara Valley and Ash Fall Fossil Beds State Historical Park. Other events include a Dutch oven cooking workshop, youth activities at the Nature Conservancy's Niobrara Valley Preserve and science kits for educators.
Registration is $45 by Thursday and $50 afterward. Additional fees apply for the field trips. There is no fee for youth if they attend with an adult with a paid registration. College credit is available through Wayne State College.
The event was developed by the Sand Hills Discovery Foundation and the North Central Resource Conservation and Development Council.
For more information about the events please go to www.sandhills.org or call the Ainsworth Chamber of Commerce at 402-387-2740 or toll-free at 866-387-2740.
Contact the writer:
444-1127, david.hendee@owh.com
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