1 00:00:01,920 --> 00:00:07,080 Speaker 1: Welcome to brain Stuff production of iHeart Radio. Hey brain Stuff, 2 00:00:07,120 --> 00:00:11,040 Speaker 1: Lauren Vogelbaum. Here, although we're all being cautious during the 3 00:00:11,080 --> 00:00:14,800 Speaker 1: COVID nineteen pandemic, that doesn't mean we're any less curious, 4 00:00:14,880 --> 00:00:18,400 Speaker 1: and it doesn't necessarily mean being stuck at home here 5 00:00:18,400 --> 00:00:21,680 Speaker 1: in the US. International travel maybe out right now, but 6 00:00:21,800 --> 00:00:25,239 Speaker 1: the good old American road trips still offers amazing sights 7 00:00:25,280 --> 00:00:29,200 Speaker 1: and learning opportunities because there's a whole other country out 8 00:00:29,200 --> 00:00:31,600 Speaker 1: there to see within our borders, one that's older than 9 00:00:31,640 --> 00:00:35,879 Speaker 1: the Blacktop itself. It's the America where dinosaurs once thrived 10 00:00:35,880 --> 00:00:39,200 Speaker 1: and mammoths were as common as road signs. Fierce cats 11 00:00:39,200 --> 00:00:41,680 Speaker 1: and other deadly mammals once had to fight for territory 12 00:00:41,720 --> 00:00:44,440 Speaker 1: and food here instead of pulling into the nearest road stop. 13 00:00:45,400 --> 00:00:47,960 Speaker 1: And it's a country you can still see today because 14 00:00:48,080 --> 00:00:51,000 Speaker 1: Mother Nature has a unique way of preserving her memories 15 00:00:51,040 --> 00:00:54,400 Speaker 1: through fossils, the remains and impressions of plants and animals 16 00:00:54,440 --> 00:00:59,520 Speaker 1: locked forever in the earth until intrepid researchers uncover them. 17 00:00:59,560 --> 00:01:02,040 Speaker 1: There are lots of fossil sites across the north central 18 00:01:02,120 --> 00:01:05,120 Speaker 1: United States, but one of our favorites is Ashfall Fossil 19 00:01:05,160 --> 00:01:08,840 Speaker 1: Beds Historical State Park in Royal, Nebraska. It's home to 20 00:01:08,880 --> 00:01:12,760 Speaker 1: the largest number of mostly intact, three dimensional prehistoric animal 21 00:01:12,800 --> 00:01:16,760 Speaker 1: skeletons in the world. This is because about twelve million 22 00:01:16,840 --> 00:01:20,360 Speaker 1: years ago, a supervolcano erupted and what is now Idaho. 23 00:01:20,560 --> 00:01:23,440 Speaker 1: The volcanoes spread a giant cloud of ash over a 24 00:01:23,480 --> 00:01:26,840 Speaker 1: wide area, including the northeastern section of Nebraska where this 25 00:01:26,880 --> 00:01:29,960 Speaker 1: park is located. As the ash was inhaled by the 26 00:01:30,000 --> 00:01:32,679 Speaker 1: animals living in this area, they died over the course 27 00:01:32,680 --> 00:01:36,000 Speaker 1: of several weeks, and because their bodies were then surrounded 28 00:01:36,000 --> 00:01:40,160 Speaker 1: by the falling ash, their skeletons were well preserved for millennia. 29 00:01:40,360 --> 00:01:42,680 Speaker 1: In fact, some of them still have evidence of their 30 00:01:42,760 --> 00:01:47,480 Speaker 1: last meals in their mouths or stomachs. Today, visitors can 31 00:01:47,520 --> 00:01:50,200 Speaker 1: see complete skeletons still in the earth and watch some 32 00:01:50,280 --> 00:01:53,600 Speaker 1: of the excavation work as it happens. An enclosed facility 33 00:01:53,680 --> 00:01:56,320 Speaker 1: known as the Hubbard Rhino Barn has been built around 34 00:01:56,360 --> 00:01:59,520 Speaker 1: the primary excavation site, so a visit is possible in 35 00:01:59,520 --> 00:02:02,640 Speaker 1: all types of weather. More than three and fifty full 36 00:02:02,640 --> 00:02:06,160 Speaker 1: skeletons and twenty five thousand fossil specimens have been unearthed 37 00:02:06,160 --> 00:02:08,919 Speaker 1: belonging to animals such as a raccoon dog, a bone 38 00:02:08,919 --> 00:02:12,520 Speaker 1: crushing dog, a sabretoothed deer, and a barrel bodied rhino, 39 00:02:12,760 --> 00:02:16,120 Speaker 1: which is the most common animal at the site. In 40 00:02:16,160 --> 00:02:18,680 Speaker 1: addition to the rhino barn, visitors can also stop in 41 00:02:18,720 --> 00:02:21,880 Speaker 1: at the fossil Preparation Lab, where paleontologists are available to 42 00:02:21,919 --> 00:02:25,760 Speaker 1: answer questions. Nature and geology trails and picnic facilities are 43 00:02:25,760 --> 00:02:29,960 Speaker 1: also available. Advanced tickets are required and available on their website. 44 00:02:31,200 --> 00:02:34,600 Speaker 1: But unlike other fossil sites that often offer a peak 45 00:02:34,639 --> 00:02:38,160 Speaker 1: at one particular period of ancient history, the John Dave 46 00:02:38,240 --> 00:02:42,000 Speaker 1: Fossil Beds National Monument in east central Oregon holds within 47 00:02:42,040 --> 00:02:45,680 Speaker 1: a rugged landscape history of extinct life spanning from six 48 00:02:45,760 --> 00:02:49,079 Speaker 1: million to fifty four million years ago. It's one of 49 00:02:49,120 --> 00:02:53,400 Speaker 1: the best records of evolutionary change on Earth. Also, John 50 00:02:53,440 --> 00:02:56,240 Speaker 1: Dave Fossil Beds is really three parts in one, with 51 00:02:56,360 --> 00:03:00,120 Speaker 1: scenic hour to two hour drives between each. Hiking trails 52 00:03:00,160 --> 00:03:02,760 Speaker 1: around the Clarno Unit offer visitors a chance to see 53 00:03:02,880 --> 00:03:06,600 Speaker 1: wild fossils still in the earth. Trails around the Painted 54 00:03:06,680 --> 00:03:10,440 Speaker 1: Hills Unit include stunning vistas. The hills are beautiful records 55 00:03:10,440 --> 00:03:13,960 Speaker 1: of past climate change that appear in dramatic colored stripes 56 00:03:14,000 --> 00:03:17,520 Speaker 1: and shades of red, orange, tan, and black. And in 57 00:03:17,560 --> 00:03:20,040 Speaker 1: the Sheep Rock Unit, you can visit the Thomas Condon 58 00:03:20,120 --> 00:03:23,840 Speaker 1: Paleontology Center, which offers a series of superb exhibits about 59 00:03:23,840 --> 00:03:26,200 Speaker 1: the animal and plant life that once thrived in the region. 60 00:03:26,800 --> 00:03:30,040 Speaker 1: Fossil talks and walks are also scheduled during all seasons 61 00:03:30,040 --> 00:03:33,880 Speaker 1: except for winter. As with all national parks, the removal 62 00:03:33,880 --> 00:03:36,520 Speaker 1: of fossils is prohibited by law, so you might want 63 00:03:36,560 --> 00:03:38,600 Speaker 1: to stop in at the nearby town of Fossil to 64 00:03:38,640 --> 00:03:43,080 Speaker 1: purchase a souvenir to take back home. But if your 65 00:03:43,120 --> 00:03:46,160 Speaker 1: interests in science are a little further out there, there 66 00:03:46,160 --> 00:03:49,320 Speaker 1: are a bounty of observatories and space science centers to 67 00:03:49,440 --> 00:03:52,880 Speaker 1: tickle your fancy. The East Coast bears plenty, but one 68 00:03:52,880 --> 00:03:56,000 Speaker 1: a little further off the beaten is NASA's Stennis Space Center, 69 00:03:56,280 --> 00:03:58,400 Speaker 1: which now has its visitor center as part of the 70 00:03:58,400 --> 00:04:02,520 Speaker 1: Infinity Science Center in par Linked in Mississippi. That's right 71 00:04:02,880 --> 00:04:06,320 Speaker 1: in the Deep South. You'll find grits, greens, and rocket engines. 72 00:04:06,960 --> 00:04:09,920 Speaker 1: This space center is the nation's premier test facility for 73 00:04:10,040 --> 00:04:13,520 Speaker 1: rock engines of all kinds. Including Space Shuttle main engines 74 00:04:13,560 --> 00:04:18,799 Speaker 1: for NASA and now other groups. Surrounded by primordial feeling canals, 75 00:04:19,080 --> 00:04:21,960 Speaker 1: the place has a neat layout. The Stennis uses the 76 00:04:21,960 --> 00:04:24,880 Speaker 1: waterways to transport rocket parts to the site and then 77 00:04:24,880 --> 00:04:28,479 Speaker 1: assembles the rockets in separate facilities. The next stage is 78 00:04:28,480 --> 00:04:32,039 Speaker 1: the test stands, which determine whether rocket engines can fire 79 00:04:32,040 --> 00:04:35,719 Speaker 1: at high altitudes and in space. Staff members simulate the 80 00:04:35,720 --> 00:04:38,919 Speaker 1: conditions the engines will encounter by shooting gases at the 81 00:04:38,960 --> 00:04:43,039 Speaker 1: engines and changing local pressures. You can tour the site, 82 00:04:43,080 --> 00:04:44,760 Speaker 1: and if you'd like to see an engine test, you 83 00:04:44,800 --> 00:04:47,320 Speaker 1: can call the Infinity Science Center to find out whether 84 00:04:47,400 --> 00:04:50,680 Speaker 1: any are on the schedule. The center also features Earth, 85 00:04:50,800 --> 00:04:54,080 Speaker 1: space and ocean science exhibits and activities drawn from the 86 00:04:54,120 --> 00:04:56,640 Speaker 1: real research being done at the more than thirty labs 87 00:04:56,640 --> 00:05:00,760 Speaker 1: and offices that work out of Stennis. Of course, even 88 00:05:00,800 --> 00:05:03,520 Speaker 1: if you can't make it out, these attractions and many 89 00:05:03,560 --> 00:05:06,440 Speaker 1: others around the country and the world, have been posting 90 00:05:06,520 --> 00:05:10,760 Speaker 1: at home activities, virtual field trips, and other learning experiences online. 91 00:05:11,360 --> 00:05:14,040 Speaker 1: But if you do go, it's more important than ever 92 00:05:14,160 --> 00:05:17,640 Speaker 1: to plan your trip, as some attractions are restricting attendance, 93 00:05:17,839 --> 00:05:22,320 Speaker 1: requiring advanced ticket purchases, or have limited hours or other restrictions, 94 00:05:22,760 --> 00:05:30,440 Speaker 1: but they will be so happy to have you. Today's 95 00:05:30,480 --> 00:05:33,880 Speaker 1: episode was written by Susan al Naser, Michael Franco, and myself, 96 00:05:34,000 --> 00:05:36,480 Speaker 1: and it was produced by Tyler Clang. For more in 97 00:05:36,560 --> 00:05:38,760 Speaker 1: this and lots of other trippy topics, visit how stuff 98 00:05:38,760 --> 00:05:41,640 Speaker 1: works dot com. Brain Stuff is a production of iHeart Radio. 99 00:05:41,920 --> 00:05:44,120 Speaker 1: Or more podcasts my heart Radio visit the i heart 100 00:05:44,200 --> 00:05:46,800 Speaker 1: Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your 101 00:05:46,800 --> 00:05:47,480 Speaker 1: favorite shows.