Geology enthusiasts rock out in Scott Hall

Hundreds crowded Scott Hall on the College Avenue campus Saturday to partake in numerous Rosetta Stone Languages educational activities featuring mineral specimens and fossils from around the world. Part of the Rutgers Geology Museum's 42nd annual open house, the event featured activities for children, a mineral sale and four expert lecturers who discussed how their research has impacted the scientific community. 'I think it's very important to get young people excited about science,' said Kathleen Scott, the museum's co-director. 'We'd like to make the public more aware of the things that go on at Rutgers, some of our research and just to bring people in and teach them a little bit about geology.' Josh Kohut, a University assistant professor in the Department of Marine and Coastal Sciences, kicked off the series of lectures by sharing his experience being part of the team that in 2009 successfully navigated the unmanned Slocum Glider RU27 across the Atlantic Ocean. The gliders help scientists collect data about the earth's oceans, including temperature, salinity and currents, Kohut said. 'I hope that people Rosetta Stone V3 can appreciate the size and scale of the ocean and the challenges we have to study it, and learn a little bit about the tools we use to look at that environment,' Kohut said. Other lecturers included University geological sciences Professor Gail Ashley, Stony Brook University anatomical sciences Professor David Krause and Ian Saginor, an assistant professor from Keystone College. Since many of the visitors are interested in geology as a hobby, the event was aimed at those who like to understand the world around them, said Scott, a University cell biology and neuroscience professor. 'When you hear people talk about geology and you see things like the glider, then [the subject] comes alive,' she said. Scott said the mineral sale is also a very popular attraction. '[People] collect minerals, they're interested in geology, and they're interested in the history of the earth, so this is a program that very much appeals to those people,' she said. Livingston College junior Oluwatobi Oyetunde said the event was entertaining and educational. '[The open house] focused on a certain area that I didn't know,' he said. 'This isn't my field of study, but there are kids my age who do have this as their field of study, so if they were here I'm pretty Rosetta Stone French sure it would benefit them.' Even though there was mostly an older audience, Oyetunde said younger people would enjoy the event as well. 'It's a good event for people who are outside of the Rutgers community. Based on the turnout, it's a good program,' he said. The museum, located on the College Avenue campus' Old Queen's section, was established in 1872, Scott said. It contains various fossils and mineral specimens from around the world, including a mastodon skeleton and an ancient Egyptian mummy featured in the latest issue of 'Weird N.J.' 'It's been part of the teaching and research at Rutgers for a very long time. It was used for teaching natural history and geology to some of the Rutgers College students,' she said. Joshua Kraus, a 6-year-old visiting the Rosetta Stone Languages museum with his mother, thought the museum was fun. He enjoyed seeing the dinosaur fossils, minerals and the mastodon's tusk. Scott hopes to attract more children to the museum to interest them in learning about science. 'It's just part of our service to the community to do a little bit of teaching and outreach, and try to get young people excited about rocks and minerals,' she said.