WEBVTT - Where Should You Go on a Science Road Trip? 0:00:01.920 --> 0:00:07.080 Welcome to brain Stuff production of iHeart Radio. Hey brain Stuff, 0:00:07.120 --> 0:00:11.040 Lauren Vogelbaum. Here, although we're all being cautious during the 0:00:11.080 --> 0:00:14.800 COVID nineteen pandemic, that doesn't mean we're any less curious, 0:00:14.880 --> 0:00:18.400 and it doesn't necessarily mean being stuck at home here 0:00:18.400 --> 0:00:21.680 in the US. International travel maybe out right now, but 0:00:21.800 --> 0:00:25.239 the good old American road trips still offers amazing sights 0:00:25.280 --> 0:00:29.200 and learning opportunities because there's a whole other country out 0:00:29.200 --> 0:00:31.600 there to see within our borders, one that's older than 0:00:31.640 --> 0:00:35.879 the Blacktop itself. It's the America where dinosaurs once thrived 0:00:35.880 --> 0:00:39.200 and mammoths were as common as road signs. Fierce cats 0:00:39.200 --> 0:00:41.680 and other deadly mammals once had to fight for territory 0:00:41.720 --> 0:00:44.440 and food here instead of pulling into the nearest road stop. 0:00:45.400 --> 0:00:47.960 And it's a country you can still see today because 0:00:48.080 --> 0:00:51.000 Mother Nature has a unique way of preserving her memories 0:00:51.040 --> 0:00:54.400 through fossils, the remains and impressions of plants and animals 0:00:54.440 --> 0:00:59.520 locked forever in the earth until intrepid researchers uncover them. 0:00:59.560 --> 0:01:02.040 There are lots of fossil sites across the north central 0:01:02.120 --> 0:01:05.120 United States, but one of our favorites is Ashfall Fossil 0:01:05.160 --> 0:01:08.840 Beds Historical State Park in Royal, Nebraska. It's home to 0:01:08.880 --> 0:01:12.760 the largest number of mostly intact, three dimensional prehistoric animal 0:01:12.800 --> 0:01:16.760 skeletons in the world. This is because about twelve million 0:01:16.840 --> 0:01:20.360 years ago, a supervolcano erupted and what is now Idaho. 0:01:20.560 --> 0:01:23.440 The volcanoes spread a giant cloud of ash over a 0:01:23.480 --> 0:01:26.840 wide area, including the northeastern section of Nebraska where this 0:01:26.880 --> 0:01:29.960 park is located. As the ash was inhaled by the 0:01:30.000 --> 0:01:32.679 animals living in this area, they died over the course 0:01:32.680 --> 0:01:36.000 of several weeks, and because their bodies were then surrounded 0:01:36.000 --> 0:01:40.160 by the falling ash, their skeletons were well preserved for millennia. 0:01:40.360 --> 0:01:42.680 In fact, some of them still have evidence of their 0:01:42.760 --> 0:01:47.480 last meals in their mouths or stomachs. Today, visitors can 0:01:47.520 --> 0:01:50.200 see complete skeletons still in the earth and watch some 0:01:50.280 --> 0:01:53.600 of the excavation work as it happens. An enclosed facility 0:01:53.680 --> 0:01:56.320 known as the Hubbard Rhino Barn has been built around 0:01:56.360 --> 0:01:59.520 the primary excavation site, so a visit is possible in 0:01:59.520 --> 0:02:02.640 all types of weather. More than three and fifty full 0:02:02.640 --> 0:02:06.160 skeletons and twenty five thousand fossil specimens have been unearthed 0:02:06.160 --> 0:02:08.919 belonging to animals such as a raccoon dog, a bone 0:02:08.919 --> 0:02:12.520 crushing dog, a sabretoothed deer, and a barrel bodied rhino, 0:02:12.760 --> 0:02:16.120 which is the most common animal at the site. In 0:02:16.160 --> 0:02:18.680 addition to the rhino barn, visitors can also stop in 0:02:18.720 --> 0:02:21.880 at the fossil Preparation Lab, where paleontologists are available to 0:02:21.919 --> 0:02:25.760 answer questions. Nature and geology trails and picnic facilities are 0:02:25.760 --> 0:02:29.960 also available. Advanced tickets are required and available on their website. 0:02:31.200 --> 0:02:34.600 But unlike other fossil sites that often offer a peak 0:02:34.639 --> 0:02:38.160 at one particular period of ancient history, the John Dave 0:02:38.240 --> 0:02:42.000 Fossil Beds National Monument in east central Oregon holds within 0:02:42.040 --> 0:02:45.680 a rugged landscape history of extinct life spanning from six 0:02:45.760 --> 0:02:49.079 million to fifty four million years ago. It's one of 0:02:49.120 --> 0:02:53.400 the best records of evolutionary change on Earth. Also, John 0:02:53.440 --> 0:02:56.240 Dave Fossil Beds is really three parts in one, with 0:02:56.360 --> 0:03:00.120 scenic hour to two hour drives between each. Hiking trails 0:03:00.160 --> 0:03:02.760 around the Clarno Unit offer visitors a chance to see 0:03:02.880 --> 0:03:06.600 wild fossils still in the earth. Trails around the Painted 0:03:06.680 --> 0:03:10.440 Hills Unit include stunning vistas. The hills are beautiful records 0:03:10.440 --> 0:03:13.960 of past climate change that appear in dramatic colored stripes 0:03:14.000 --> 0:03:17.520 and shades of red, orange, tan, and black. And in 0:03:17.560 --> 0:03:20.040 the Sheep Rock Unit, you can visit the Thomas Condon 0:03:20.120 --> 0:03:23.840 Paleontology Center, which offers a series of superb exhibits about 0:03:23.840 --> 0:03:26.200 the animal and plant life that once thrived in the region. 0:03:26.800 --> 0:03:30.040 Fossil talks and walks are also scheduled during all seasons 0:03:30.040 --> 0:03:33.880 except for winter. As with all national parks, the removal 0:03:33.880 --> 0:03:36.520 of fossils is prohibited by law, so you might want 0:03:36.560 --> 0:03:38.600 to stop in at the nearby town of Fossil to 0:03:38.640 --> 0:03:43.080 purchase a souvenir to take back home. But if your 0:03:43.120 --> 0:03:46.160 interests in science are a little further out there, there 0:03:46.160 --> 0:03:49.320 are a bounty of observatories and space science centers to 0:03:49.440 --> 0:03:52.880 tickle your fancy. The East Coast bears plenty, but one 0:03:52.880 --> 0:03:56.000 a little further off the beaten is NASA's Stennis Space Center, 0:03:56.280 --> 0:03:58.400 which now has its visitor center as part of the 0:03:58.400 --> 0:04:02.520 Infinity Science Center in par Linked in Mississippi. That's right 0:04:02.880 --> 0:04:06.320 in the Deep South. You'll find grits, greens, and rocket engines. 0:04:06.960 --> 0:04:09.920 This space center is the nation's premier test facility for 0:04:10.040 --> 0:04:13.520 rock engines of all kinds. Including Space Shuttle main engines 0:04:13.560 --> 0:04:18.799 for NASA and now other groups. Surrounded by primordial feeling canals, 0:04:19.080 --> 0:04:21.960 the place has a neat layout. The Stennis uses the 0:04:21.960 --> 0:04:24.880 waterways to transport rocket parts to the site and then 0:04:24.880 --> 0:04:28.479 assembles the rockets in separate facilities. The next stage is 0:04:28.480 --> 0:04:32.039 the test stands, which determine whether rocket engines can fire 0:04:32.040 --> 0:04:35.719 at high altitudes and in space. Staff members simulate the 0:04:35.720 --> 0:04:38.919 conditions the engines will encounter by shooting gases at the 0:04:38.960 --> 0:04:43.039 engines and changing local pressures. You can tour the site, 0:04:43.080 --> 0:04:44.760 and if you'd like to see an engine test, you 0:04:44.800 --> 0:04:47.320 can call the Infinity Science Center to find out whether 0:04:47.400 --> 0:04:50.680 any are on the schedule. The center also features Earth, 0:04:50.800 --> 0:04:54.080 space and ocean science exhibits and activities drawn from the 0:04:54.120 --> 0:04:56.640 real research being done at the more than thirty labs 0:04:56.640 --> 0:05:00.760 and offices that work out of Stennis. Of course, even 0:05:00.800 --> 0:05:03.520 if you can't make it out, these attractions and many 0:05:03.560 --> 0:05:06.440 others around the country and the world, have been posting 0:05:06.520 --> 0:05:10.760 at home activities, virtual field trips, and other learning experiences online. 0:05:11.360 --> 0:05:14.040 But if you do go, it's more important than ever 0:05:14.160 --> 0:05:17.640 to plan your trip, as some attractions are restricting attendance, 0:05:17.839 --> 0:05:22.320 requiring advanced ticket purchases, or have limited hours or other restrictions, 0:05:22.760 --> 0:05:30.440 but they will be so happy to have you. Today's 0:05:30.480 --> 0:05:33.880 episode was written by Susan al Naser, Michael Franco, and myself, 0:05:34.000 --> 0:05:36.480 and it was produced by Tyler Clang. For more in 0:05:36.560 --> 0:05:38.760 this and lots of other trippy topics, visit how stuff 0:05:38.760 --> 0:05:41.640 works dot com. Brain Stuff is a production of iHeart Radio. 0:05:41.920 --> 0:05:44.120 Or more podcasts my heart Radio visit the i heart 0:05:44.200 --> 0:05:46.800 Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your 0:05:46.800 --> 0:05:47.480 favorite shows.