The format of this presentation was unique in that it took place in Orton Hall. Beginning with a brief history of the building itself, I thought it was neat that the geological construction of the building corresponded to the order it occurs naturally in Earth. It is also notable that the columns lining the lobby are each made out of different Ohio rocks and minerals.
I like how Dr. Gnidovec dropped names like Thomas Jefferson and Andrew Carnegie during his presentation. Those are names I never would have associated with fossils. It’s funny that Jefferson told settlers to watch out for mastodons and giant sloths following the Louisiana Purchase; extinction still was not commonly accepted, which I think is wild. In the future, I’m hoping people will view not believing in global warming as outlandish as I did when I heard people did not believe in extinction. Of four giant sloth skeletons found in Ohio, Orton houses the best dated one at 13,100 years old. I hope my own enthusiasm towards my future job matches Dr. Gnidovec’s towards paleontology. His passion towards his work my favorite part of the presentation.