Spring 2010
Friday, January 29, 2010, 7:30 p.m.
Sierra Snowstorms & the 1960 Squaw Valley Olympics
by Mark McLaughlin
Award-winning Sierra Nevada Weather & Cultural Historian
When Winter arrives in the Sierra Nevada, so does the snow – offering both delight and difficulty for the visitor and traveler. In this lecture, Mark McLaughlin will discuss the history of Sierra snowstorms, utilizing extensive research and historic imagery. And, on the occasion of the 50th Anniversary of the 1960 Winter Olympics at Squaw Valley, Mark will recount the fascinating story of this important sporting event.
Lake Tahoe historian Mark McLaughlin is an award-winning, nationally published author and photographer with six books and more than 500 articles in print. His most recent book, Longboards to Olympics: A Century of Tahoe Winter Sports, was published in January 2010.
Mark was educated as an historian and cultural geographer at the University of Nevada, Reno, and his work appears regularly in California and Nevada media; he has received the Nevada State Press award five times. Mark frequently writes historical articles for such magazines as Sierra Heritage, Wild West, Nevada, Skiing Heritage and Weatherwise. His work has also been published in the Reno News & Review, Issues in Science & Technology, and the Grolier Educational Science Annual encyclopedia.
A professional and popular lecturer who has lived at North Lake Tahoe since 1978, McLaughlin teaches Sierra Nevada history using dramatic stories, slide shows and field trips. He is also a frequent guest on National Public Radio and has appeared on CNN, the History Channel and the Weather Channel.
Mark is the author of several prize-winning books, including The Donner Party: Weathering the Storm (2007). His entertaining and educational history books are available at local and regional bookstores or at www.thestormking.com. Mark is a member of the Editorial Advisory Board of the Sierra College Press.
This January 29 lecture is the annual Raymond A. Underhill Memorial Lecture. Underhill was the founder of the Sierra College Natural History Museum.
Sewell (Science) Room 111 / Rocklin Campus General $5 / Students $2 / Museum members free
Friday, February 26, 2010, 7:30 p.m.
"Relics of Eden: The Powerful Evidence of Evolution in Human DNA"
Dr. Daniel Fairbanks
Professor of Biology & Research Geneticist, Brigham Young University
Fairbanks’ lecture will be based upon his 2007 book Relics of Eden: The Powerful Evidence of Evolution in Human DNA, which examines the scientific evidence of our genetic heritage from ancient ancestors in Africa. Dr. Fairbanks urges individuals to put aside the pseudoscientific claims of Creationism and “intelligent design” and to abandon the either-or arguments of those opposed to the evidence.
Dr. Daniel J. Fairbanks is a Professor of Plant and Wildlife Sciences, research geneticist and former Dean of Undergraduate Education at Brigham Young University. He has been on the faculty at BYU since 1988. Fairbanks is the author of a widely-used college textbook entitled Genetics: The Continuity of Life. He has also taught at South Virginia University and in Brazil as a Fulbright Fellow.
Dr. Fairbanks is also a gifted sculptor and, during the lecture, will sculpt a bust of Charles Darwin while recounting some of the more fascinating details of our genetic heritage.
Sewell (Science) Room 111 / Rocklin Campus General $5 / Students $2 / Museum members free
Friday, March 26, 2010, 7:30 p.m.
Natural History of Baja
by Steve James
Professor of Biology & Marine Ecology, Sacramento City College
Steve James has been fascinated with Baja California and the Sea of Cortez since first journeying to the town of Bahia de Los Angeles as a student 33 years ago. Since that time he has visited the peninsula numerous times to discover its many wonders. Baja California offers unique and beautiful desert landscapes and mysterious canyon pictographs, while the Sea of Cortez brims with sea life. As Steve states: “Please join me in an informal talk as we walk amongst cardon cactus and the infamous boojum trees, swim with whale sharks, ponder the special sites where early Baja Californians left their mark on the land 5,000 years ago, and dream of an authentic fish taco!”
After falling in love with marine biology, Steve James initially worked as a teaching assistant for field courses in marine biology in Bahia de Los Angeles and the entire Baja peninsula. He has degrees in Environmental Studies. Biological Sciences and Conservation Biology from UC Santa Barbara and CSU Sacramento. Upon completion of his degree, James worked for environmental consulting firms before beginning his teaching career. Steve James is an instructor at Sacramento City College in Marine Biology, Environmental Biology, Environmental Regulations, and Natural History. He also has taught a number of field courses in Baja California, the Mojave Desert and Belize. He hopes to offer a field class to French Polynesia in the future.
Sewell (Science) Room 111 / Rocklin Campus General $5 / Students $2 / Museum members free
Friday, April 23, 2010, 7 p.m.
"Conversation with a Tramp"
by Lee Stetson as John Muir
His 18th annual performance. Lee was recently featured as the voice of John Muir in Ken Burns' The National Parks on PBS.
World renowned actor Stetson of Yosemite will do another one-man play on the life of California's most famous conservationist, John Muir. The setting is Muir's home, awaiting the outcome of a twenty-five year battle for Hetch Hetchy Valley. That unique Yosemite-type valley is threatened with flooding by dam-builders and the City of San Francisco. As he waits, Muir describes his ride in a wind-storm atop a 100 foot fir tree, and his climb and near disaster alongside the Yosemite Falls. His final stirring defense on behalf of Hetch Hetchy is richly moving – and a fine model for environmental defense even today.
Dietrich Theatre, Rocklin Campus
General $10 | Students | $5 | Museum members free
Want advance tickets? Send a check (made out to Sierra College Museum) and a self-addressed and stamped return envelope to 'Muir Play Tickets' - c/o Richard Hilton / Sierra College / 5000 Rocklin Road / Rocklin, CA 95677
Friday, May 7, 2010, 7:30 p.m.
Why does Jane love Jack but not Jim?
Sexual selection, the development of mating systems and how it affects the morphology of organisms
by Keely Carroll
Assistant Professor of Biological Sciences, Sierra College
Did you know that some stick insect species will mate for up to 10 weeks straight?!? Or that it can take around 3000 copulations between lions to produce a single offspring that survives to adulthood? What about males who pretend that they are females so that they can outcompete other males in the production of offspring? Why does the female black widow spider eat her mate – and is he really OK with that?
Keely Carroll is an assistant professor of biology at Sierra College. Her background is in wildlife ecology and she has a special interest in the evolution of sexual selection. Prior to teaching at Sierra College, Keely also taught at Sacramento City College, Folsom Lake College, and California State University, Sacramento. She is also a member of the Natural History Museum Committee and is the editor of the online journal: The Journal of the Sierra College Natural History Museum.
Sewell (Science) Room 111 / Rocklin Campus General $5 / Students $2 / Museum members free
Related Websites:
The Museum now has an eJournal, Journal of the Natural History Museum.
For recordings of lectures about the Sierra Nevada, visit the Sierra Nevada Virtual Museum, Enter, and then click on the link, "Sierracasts". (The site is in Flash, but there is a text only version available.)
For more information on the Sierra Nevada, visit Saving the Sierra website. They have radio broadcasts, a storybooth and a blog with recollections about the Sierra.