Annual Meeting
Workshops
- Educators' Workshops: Teaching Evolution
- Paleontological Illustration: Digital Imaging Techniques and Publication Guidelines for the JVP
- Children's Workshops on Dinosaurs and Animation
- Effective Poster Design Workshop
View this year's field trips.
Educators' Two-Session Workshop: Teaching Evolution
Session I: Formal session
Date: Saturday, October 2
Time: 9 a.m.-3 p.m.
Location: Carnegie Museum of Natural History
Session II: Informal Session
Date: Sunday, October 10
Time: All day
Location: David L. Lawrence Convention Center, East Lobby
The Division of Public Programs at Carnegie Museum of Natural History will present a two-session workshop as part of the 2010 SVP meeting in Pittsburgh in order to impact educators in the host region. Participating educators will develop a working knowledge of both ongoing vertebrate paleontology research and basic research techniques that they will be able to incorporate into new or existing lesson plans.
Session I: This (formal) workshop session will take place on Saturday, October 2, (in advance of the SVP meeting) between 9:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. This session will be held in the classrooms and exhibition halls of Carnegie Museum of Natural History.
Session II: This (informal) workshop session will take place on Sunday, October 10, during the scheduled hours for poster sessions and research presentations. This session will be held in the various meeting rooms and exhibition areas of the convention hotel. (Participating teachers will be provided with a day pass that allows them to view posters and sit in on presentations on a "space available" basis.)
Cost includes: Handout materials which will include information related to the vertebrate fossil exhibitions at Carnegie Museum of Natural History as well as abstracts for the presentations at the 2010 SVP Meeting.
Cost does NOT include: Transportation to and from the venues of this workshop.
Cost: $54 (for both sessions)
Minimum Number of Attendees: 20
Maximum Number of Attendees: 30
Registration for this workshop will be handled through Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Contact the organizer for more information.
Questions? Contact the workshop organizer Patrick McShea at the information listed below.
Organizer:
Patrick McShea
Carnegie Museum of Natural History, USA
mcsheap@carnegiemnh.org
Paleontological Illustration: Digital Imaging Techniques and Publication Guidelines for the JVP
(Two sessions, each with different content. Each can be taken independently.)
Session I: Introduction to Digital Media
Date: Saturday, October 9
Time: 9 a.m. - Noon
Session II: Integrated Technology and Publication Preparation
Date: Saturday, October 9
Time: 1-4 p.m.
Location: Art Institute of Pittsburgh, 420 Boulevard of the Allies (corner of Cherry Way and The Boulevard of the Allies)
Specimen illustration has always been a major part of the description of fossils. Previously, illustrations created with traditional media such as pen and ink, graphite or coquille board were turned over to experienced production staff at the publishers who were responsible for their accurate reproduction. The advent of desktop computer technology has placed a greater share of this task in the hands of paleontologists and preparators, and it is important that authors have a basic understanding of the terminology and workflow of modern digital publishing systems. This knowledge will ensure that their artwork is submitted in an appropriate format and can be reproduced as faithfully as possible and without complication.
These workshops by Dave Mazierski will provide the basics on using Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop as they pertain to professionally accepted conventions, media and files for artwork intended for publication. Techniques for creating digital and hybrid digital/analogue illustrations and for proper scanning and adjusting images in line, tone (greyscale) and color will be described. Technologies such as vector-based art, resolution and bit depth will be covered through demonstration and tutorials in the workshop. In addition, participants are encouraged to bring their own illustrations or photos (works-in-progress or complete, digital or traditional) for critique or evaluation as to their appropriateness for reproduction in the JVP or other print media. Handouts detailing the methods presented with step-by-step instructions applicable to Macintosh and Windows users of Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop will be provided.
Session I (9 a.m.-Noon): |
Introduction to vectors & pixels |
| Session II (1-4 p.m.): Integrated Technology and Publication Preparation |
Scanning and image adjustment in Photoshop "Bitmap" (black & white) and greyscale images Combining Illustrator and Photoshop information Fonts and typography File formats |
Each session functions as a stand-alone workshop; participants may sign up for either the morning or afternoon session, depending on their prior knowledge. Beginners could sign up for both.
Cost includes: Handouts detailing the methods presented with step-by-step instructions applicable to Macintosh and Windows users of Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop.
Cost does NOT include: Participants are encouraged to bring their own illustrations or photos (works-in-progress or complete; digital or traditional media) for critique or evaluation as to their appropriateness for reproduction in the JVP or other print media and to use in the demonstrations and tutorials if possible.
Cost: $55 per session
Minimum Number of Attendees: 10
Maximum Number of Attendees: 20
Organizer:
Dave Mazierski
University of Toronto Mississauga, Canada
d.mazierski@utoronto.ca
Children's Workshops on Dinosaurs and Animation
Date: Saturday, October 9
Time: 10 a.m. - 2:30 p.m.
Location: Children's Museum of Pittsburgh
Parallel workshops on dinosaurs and other fossil vertebrates and animation will be presented at the Children's Museum of Pittsburgh in collaboration with Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Together with professional artists, animators and vertebrate paleontologists from SVP, 4th to 6th graders will develop and animate their own short films based on dinosaurs and other fossil vertebrates. Participants will use equipment and software capable of running on standard laptops using standard digital cameras. On the same date and time, children in another session will learn "How to Draw Dinosaurs." There may be spaces available for up to four participants in addition to the children's groups in each workshop (total of eight to twelve). Contact the organizers if you're interested in participating.
Organizers, SVP Education and Outreach Committee Co-Chairs:
| Stuart S. Sumida California State University San Bernardino, USA ssumida@csusb.edu |
Robin Whatley Columbia College Chicago, USA rwhatley@colum.edu |
Effective Poster Design Workshop
Date: Sunday, October 10
Time: Over the Lunch Hour
Location: David L. Lawrence Convention Center, East Lobby
There are two steps in science: doing it, and telling people about what you did. You can do the first; can you do the second?
Many scientists aren't doing themselves any favors in poster sessions; their posters are cluttered, difficult to deal with, and seemingly designed to prevent people from reading them. Graphic designer Rob Furr will walk you through the common problems with poster and presentation design, provide solutions and the reasons why the solutions work, and help you actually reach your peers instead of merely providing them with wallpaper to walk past. The session will include some time for critiquing existing poster layouts.
Cost Includes: Handouts outlining concepts taught during the workshop.
Cost: $30
Minimum Number of Attendees: 20
Maximum Number of Attendees: 40
Organizer:
Robin Furr, Graphic designer and creator of the cover of Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology
http://furr.ca
rsfurr@gmail.com