Speaker 1: Welcome to brain Stuff production of iHeart Radio. Hey brain Stuff,
Speaker 1: Lauren Vogelbaum. Here, although we're all being cautious during the
Speaker 1: COVID nineteen pandemic, that doesn't mean we're any less curious,
Speaker 1: and it doesn't necessarily mean being stuck at home here
Speaker 1: in the US. International travel maybe out right now, but
Speaker 1: the good old American road trips still offers amazing sights
Speaker 1: and learning opportunities because there's a whole other country out
Speaker 1: there to see within our borders, one that's older than
Speaker 1: the Blacktop itself. It's the America where dinosaurs once thrived
Speaker 1: and mammoths were as common as road signs. Fierce cats
Speaker 1: and other deadly mammals once had to fight for territory
Speaker 1: and food here instead of pulling into the nearest road stop.
Speaker 1: And it's a country you can still see today because
Speaker 1: Mother Nature has a unique way of preserving her memories
Speaker 1: through fossils, the remains and impressions of plants and animals
Speaker 1: locked forever in the earth until intrepid researchers uncover them.
Speaker 1: There are lots of fossil sites across the north central
Speaker 1: United States, but one of our favorites is Ashfall Fossil
Speaker 1: Beds Historical State Park in Royal, Nebraska. It's home to
Speaker 1: the largest number of mostly intact, three dimensional prehistoric animal
Speaker 1: skeletons in the world. This is because about twelve million
Speaker 1: years ago, a supervolcano erupted and what is now Idaho.
Speaker 1: The volcanoes spread a giant cloud of ash over a
Speaker 1: wide area, including the northeastern section of Nebraska where this
Speaker 1: park is located. As the ash was inhaled by the
Speaker 1: animals living in this area, they died over the course
Speaker 1: of several weeks, and because their bodies were then surrounded
Speaker 1: by the falling ash, their skeletons were well preserved for millennia.
Speaker 1: In fact, some of them still have evidence of their
Speaker 1: last meals in their mouths or stomachs. Today, visitors can
Speaker 1: see complete skeletons still in the earth and watch some
Speaker 1: of the excavation work as it happens. An enclosed facility
Speaker 1: known as the Hubbard Rhino Barn has been built around
Speaker 1: the primary excavation site, so a visit is possible in
Speaker 1: all types of weather. More than three and fifty full
Speaker 1: skeletons and twenty five thousand fossil specimens have been unearthed
Speaker 1: belonging to animals such as a raccoon dog, a bone
Speaker 1: crushing dog, a sabretoothed deer, and a barrel bodied rhino,
Speaker 1: which is the most common animal at the site. In
Speaker 1: addition to the rhino barn, visitors can also stop in
Speaker 1: at the fossil Preparation Lab, where paleontologists are available to
Speaker 1: answer questions. Nature and geology trails and picnic facilities are
Speaker 1: also available. Advanced tickets are required and available on their website.
Speaker 1: But unlike other fossil sites that often offer a peak
Speaker 1: at one particular period of ancient history, the John Dave
Speaker 1: Fossil Beds National Monument in east central Oregon holds within
Speaker 1: a rugged landscape history of extinct life spanning from six
Speaker 1: million to fifty four million years ago. It's one of
Speaker 1: the best records of evolutionary change on Earth. Also, John
Speaker 1: Dave Fossil Beds is really three parts in one, with
Speaker 1: scenic hour to two hour drives between each. Hiking trails
Speaker 1: around the Clarno Unit offer visitors a chance to see
Speaker 1: wild fossils still in the earth. Trails around the Painted
Speaker 1: Hills Unit include stunning vistas. The hills are beautiful records
Speaker 1: of past climate change that appear in dramatic colored stripes
Speaker 1: and shades of red, orange, tan, and black. And in
Speaker 1: the Sheep Rock Unit, you can visit the Thomas Condon
Speaker 1: Paleontology Center, which offers a series of superb exhibits about
Speaker 1: the animal and plant life that once thrived in the region.
Speaker 1: Fossil talks and walks are also scheduled during all seasons
Speaker 1: except for winter. As with all national parks, the removal
Speaker 1: of fossils is prohibited by law, so you might want
Speaker 1: to stop in at the nearby town of Fossil to
Speaker 1: purchase a souvenir to take back home. But if your
Speaker 1: interests in science are a little further out there, there
Speaker 1: are a bounty of observatories and space science centers to
Speaker 1: tickle your fancy. The East Coast bears plenty, but one
Speaker 1: a little further off the beaten is NASA's Stennis Space Center,
Speaker 1: which now has its visitor center as part of the
Speaker 1: Infinity Science Center in par Linked in Mississippi. That's right
Speaker 1: in the Deep South. You'll find grits, greens, and rocket engines.
Speaker 1: This space center is the nation's premier test facility for
Speaker 1: rock engines of all kinds. Including Space Shuttle main engines
Speaker 1: for NASA and now other groups. Surrounded by primordial feeling canals,
Speaker 1: the place has a neat layout. The Stennis uses the
Speaker 1: waterways to transport rocket parts to the site and then
Speaker 1: assembles the rockets in separate facilities. The next stage is
Speaker 1: the test stands, which determine whether rocket engines can fire
Speaker 1: at high altitudes and in space. Staff members simulate the
Speaker 1: conditions the engines will encounter by shooting gases at the
Speaker 1: engines and changing local pressures. You can tour the site,
Speaker 1: and if you'd like to see an engine test, you
Speaker 1: can call the Infinity Science Center to find out whether
Speaker 1: any are on the schedule. The center also features Earth,
Speaker 1: space and ocean science exhibits and activities drawn from the
Speaker 1: real research being done at the more than thirty labs
Speaker 1: and offices that work out of Stennis. Of course, even
Speaker 1: if you can't make it out, these attractions and many
Speaker 1: others around the country and the world, have been posting
Speaker 1: at home activities, virtual field trips, and other learning experiences online.
Speaker 1: But if you do go, it's more important than ever
Speaker 1: to plan your trip, as some attractions are restricting attendance,
Speaker 1: requiring advanced ticket purchases, or have limited hours or other restrictions,
Speaker 1: but they will be so happy to have you. Today's
Speaker 1: episode was written by Susan al Naser, Michael Franco, and myself,
Speaker 1: and it was produced by Tyler Clang. For more in
Speaker 1: this and lots of other trippy topics, visit how stuff
Speaker 1: works dot com. Brain Stuff is a production of iHeart Radio.
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Speaker 1: favorite shows.