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.   

Recent Field Trips (Fall 2025)

Eastern Oregon Geologic History Date: Saturday & Sunday, Sept. 27-28. 

Cost: $15 for non-members (families $25), free for members. Call: (503) 358-9030 or Email Blitz124@comcast.net 

Trip Leader: Dave Taylor 

We will look at 170 million-year-old marine geologic formations in the Suplee-Izee area 80 miles east of Prineville. Then, the area, along with much of Oregon, was covered by oceanic waters. 

Our focus will be on the Snowshoe Formation that preserves a rich assemblage of shallow marine fossils near Suplee and we will compare that to deep-water deposits to the east in Izee. We recently discovered fossil­-rich sediments in that deeper basin which had been washed in from shallow-water, with their own unique set of species. This information gives us new insight into ancient animal communities that once thrived there. 

We look forward to a weekend finding fossils and deciphering the area's geologic history.

Date: Saturday, Oct. 25, 10:00 am to 4 pm 

Cost:$15 for non-members (families $25), free for members. Call: (503) 358-9030 or 

Email Blitz 124@comcast.net 

Trip Leader: Dave Taylor 

This is a day hike on the Washington side of the Columbia River Gorge east of Hood River that offers fabulous views of the eastern gorge. While on the hike we will point of features left by massive floods that flowed through the gorge during the lce Age. One such feature is sheer cliffs formed when entire hillsides were catastrophically plucked away by those floods, each of which was hundreds of feet deep. 

This area was burned by the Burdoin fire this last July. lt will be fascinating to see what trees and plants may have survived and whether certain species fared better than others. 

The hike is 3.6 miles long, has an elevation gain of 915 feet, and is rated as "easy" (Oregon Hikers Field Guide).

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: $185 

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.