Meet the Museum: Molecular Insights into Ancient Life
Dates
Wednesday 20 November | 5pm - 6pm
4.45pm for a 5pm start
Standard | $10
Concession | $8
Junior | $8
Suitable for Ages 12+
Members
Friend Members receive 15% off ticket pricing for this event.
Access information
This venue is fully accessible. Auslan interpretation is available on request. Please see below for more information.
Site access information
WA Museum Boola Bardip is fully accessible. Call 1300 134 081 for assistance. Accessible resources and programs >
How similar are ancient ferns to those we see today?
We know ferns have existed on Earth for millions of years, but just how closely do ancient ferns resemble modern ones?
At the Mazon Creek Lagerstätte in Illinois, USA, approximately 306-million-year-old carbonate concretions have preserved hundreds of thousands of fossils, including rare soft tissues.
Join Madison Tripp, a Postdoctoral Researcher with the Swedish Natural History Museum and WA Organic and Isotope Geochemistry Centre at Curtin University, as she shares her research on biomarkers in fossils from Mazon Creek. By examining molecular fossils preserved alongside soft tissue fossils and coprolites (fossilised faeces), her work has revealed that Carboniferous ferns share many biochemical similarities with modern ferns.
Access information
The venue is fully accessible. Please contact reception@museum.wa.gov.au or call 1300 134 081 a minimum of five working days before the event if you are attending and would like the organisers to arrange Auslan interpretation.
More information is available on access to and within the Museum, plus how to prepare for your visit here.
Meet the Museum
Are you curious about the fascinating world behind the scenes at the Museum? This monthly program delves into the less visible parts of the Museum’s work, as scientists, researchers, historians and curators share their expertise and passions.
