February 14 – 1:30 - 3:30 p.m.  “Paleobotanical Collections and Research at UM.” Trip Leader: Selena Y. Smith,  Assistant Professor, Earth & Environmental Sciences, the Program in the Environment and Museum of Paleontology, University of Michigan.    

We will start with an overview of paleobotany in the UM Museum of Natural History and then move to the CC Little Bldg where the fossil collections actually reside. We will explore the Museum of Paleontology’s paleobotany collections, with a chance to make a peel of a ~300 million year old coal ball. We will highlight some of Selena's current work on gingers and bananas as it relates to the modern and fossil leaf and seed studies, including microCT scans of the seeds.

Most of you already know Dr. Selena Y. Smith.  She gave an evening HVC talk  “Close Encounters of the Plant Kind: Extraordinary Fossils from a Past Greenhouse Climate”  (April 2012) and has participated in several HVC events.

Meeting place: the UM Museum of Natural History**, 2nd Floor, entrance to the Hall of Prehistoric Life
*http://www.lsa.umich.edu/ummnh/
Directions & Parking:  http://www.lsa.umich.edu/ummnh/visiting/directionsparking
Facilitator: Larry D. Noodén  ldnum@umich.edu  734-663-5667 (H), 734-945-3129 (C)