Donald Kirkpatrick to give lecture on Fossils of the Pee Dee Region

The Horry County Museum presents a lecture by Donald Kirkpatrick at 1 p.m. on Sept. 28 on vertebrate fossils of the Late Cretaceous (Age of Dinosaurs) Period in the Pee Dee.

Featuring fossils from his own collection, Kirkpatrick will discuss what areas he looks for fossils in, and the types that can be found in the Pee Dee. He will also discuss ongoing research on a variety of microfossils that can be found in the region. The public is invited to bring fossils from their personal collections, share stories of where they found their items and discuss what they may have.

Kirkpatrick received a Bachelor of Science in Geology from James Madison University in 1979. During his junior year at JMU, he was selected by the Smithsonian Institution to spend his senior year as a Museum Study Appointee to the U.S. National Museum of Natural History. Following his appointment, Kirkpatrick spent two years at the University of Kansas taking graduate biology courses and researching fossil vertebrates. After serving in the U.S. Navy, he recently retired from the Marion County School District where he taught for more than 20 years.

Kirkpatrick is a member of the National Association of Biology Teachers, the National Science Teachers Association, the National Center for Science Education and the South Carolina Science Council. In addition to these educational associations, he is also a member of the South Carolina Academy of Science, the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology and the Paleontological Research Institution.

The lecture will be held in the Museum’s McCown Auditorium located at 805 Main Street in Conway. This event is free and open to the public. For more information, call (843) 915-5320 or email hcg.museum@horrycountysc.gov.