Education, Field Trips & Outreach - Explore Oregon

Ever want to WORK with other amateurs and professionals in the field?  We participate in interactive labs and field trips exploring Oregon's landscapes.  Trips have taken us to places like the Metolius River to see native plants and to the beach to learn about geology.   

Left: Exploring for licheans on the Metolius.   

Field Trips

Scotts Mills Geology

Date: Saturday, Sept. 30, 8:30 am to 4:00 pm

Cost: $15 for non-members (families $25), free for members. 

Sign-up & Trip Details: call (503) 358-9030 or email Blitz124@comcast.net

Trip Leader: Dr. William Orr.

Dr. William Orr is an emeritus professor with the University of Oregon and for many years directed the Condon Museum there. He has an extensive publication record, including books he co-authored with his wife, Elizabeth on, Fossils of Oregon, Geology of Oregon, and Geology of the Pacific Northwest.

Dr. Orr and one of his students compiled a geologic map (published in 1988) on the Silverton – Scotts Mills area. One of the units is the Scotts Mills Formation, which we will investigate on our field trip. Orr and Miller had first formally named the formation and its members prior to their mapping it. Dr. Orr will show us exposures of this formation near his home.

The Scotts Mills Formation was laid down on the western flank of the Cascade Mountains about 25 million years ago. At that time the Cascades were not as high as they are now, but the shoreline of the Pacific Ocean lapped up against them. It was the last marine excursion so far inland before the ocean retreated to near its present position with the infilling of marine basins and the rise of the Coast Range. As revealed from the marine rocks of the formation we will see that the coastline 25 million years ago was rocky, with haystacks like those seen presently along the Oregon Coast.  

We look forward to a fun day as we will be able to explore and collect fossils from various sites including a shallow-water barnacle and mussel-shell deposit found at one of the ancient sea-stacks. 

Oregon City Geology & Ecology

Date: Saturday, Oct. 21, 9:00 am to 3 pm

Cost: $15 for non-members (families $25), free for members.

Sign-up & Trip Details: call (503) 358-9030 or email Blitz124@comcast.net

Trip Leader: Dave Taylor

The Oregon City (and the Willamette Falls) played a critical role in Oregon’s history not only for Native Americans, but for Euro-Americans who settled there beginning in the early 1800’s. We’ll touch on that history while reviewing the area’s volcanic bedrock geology.  A focus will be on how the Falls formed and changed over time. To do that we’ll see exposures that reveal the bedrock geology and discuss how faulting has affected the landscape. 

We shall also visit the Camassia preserve at West Linn. This place was swept clean to bedrock by Ice Age floods, creating conditions favorable for the camas lily and other native plants. It will be fun to see this place in a fall setting along the 1.4 mile long trail that winds through it. 

Stay tuned for additional field offerings.

Contact Information: (503) 358-9030 or e-mail: blitz124@comcast.net for meeting time and place and logistical details.

Jurassic Dinosaurs - Field Notes From a Paleontologist

This includes a powerpoint tour of the Jurassic Parkland of Wyoming. Search for dinosaur bones in the famous Jurassic and Cretaceous fossil fields of Wyoming, and find the skeleton of the great three-horned dinosaur, Triceratops. Also, discover the only dinosaur fossil from Oregon!  

The presentation draws upon current issues in paleontology to demonstrate problem solving in science, and  it introduces ideas on how we learn about dinosaur lifestyles. Students are encouraged to speculate about how dinosaurs raised their young, how they walked (and ran), and the possible use of such structures as Stegosaurus plates or Triceratops horns. Ideas are presented on how the dinosaurs died out 65 million years ago. Students may also learn about what paleontologists do for a living and what one needs to study to become a paleontologist (details of presentation content depends upon age group).

Following classroom presentations, are hands-on activities in which students handle real bones and teeth of extinct animals. We finish with time for questions and answers. 

Fees: Classroom Presentation: $125

Assembly: $245 

Grades: pre-K through adult. (presentation content depends upon age group).

Length: 1 hour.

Travel charge: Additional fees may apply if travel distance is more than 25 miles. 

For more information or to register, please contact the Association at dtaylor@nwmuseum.org.