Meetings
A Community for Fans of Pre-History!
Whether you're an amateur or a professional in paleontology, you are welcome in this community. Members convene on the first Sunday of the month* to hear a lecture from a professional paleontologist, to show and tell their latest finds, and to share news on paleo-related events and dig sites. Can't make it to the meeting in-person? Members are sent a Zoom link to attend virtually before each meeting. Not a Member but considering joining? Attend your first Meeting in-person for free and see if it's a good fit!
Meeting Location 🏛️
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Exposition Park Constituent Service & Training Center🔗 - Facility access made possible by the generosity of the NHMLAC and Luis M. Chiappe, Head of Research and Collections.
Where to Park 🚗
Take the LA Metro 🚅
*Always check the Meeting schedule: Sometimes we meet on the 2nd Sunday to avoid scheduling conflicts (ex: Super Bowl Sunday), and traditionally there is no Meeting in August.
Calendar
July 12, 2026
In-Person Lecture
First Bi-Annual Fossil Auction of 2026
Our bi-annual fossil auction and pot-luck luncheon. Don't miss a fabulous opportunity to acquire unusual fossils, gems, and books at amazing prices. We welcome your donations, so if you want to clean out your garage of some of your fossil collections and gems, as well as paleontological books, here is your chance! And please share your favorite pot-luck recipes for our luncheon!
September 13, 2026
In-Person Lecture
What’s new with Archaeopteryx: Information from the Chicago specimen
Jingmai O’Connor, PhD
Archaeopteryx, the icon of evolution, is one of the most heavily studied fossil taxa. Despite over 160 years of active research, the 14th specimen at the Chicago Field Museum of Natural History has revealed important new information regarding the skeletal and soft tissue morphology of this taxon. This new data elucidates how both the skeleton and soft tissues were modified during the acquisition of flight in avian dinosaurs.
Jingmai O’Connor is a vertebrate Paleontologist currently working at the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago as the Associate Curator of Fossil Reptiles. Previously, O’Connor worked at the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology (IVPP) Of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing for 10 years. She received her Ph.D. from the University of Southern California under Dr. David Bottjer, where she studied Mesozoic birds with Dr. Luis Chiappe at the LA Natural History Museum.
O’Connor‘s research explores the evolution of flight in the Dinosauria, the emergence of bird-dinosaurs, and the biology of Mesozoic birds, exploring birds and their closest dinosaur relatives through feather origins and function, aerodynamics, reproduction, respiration, diet, ecology, ontogeny, and much more.
O’Connor has published over 170 papers, including descriptions of over 50 new species. She has conducted fieldwork in China, Mongolia, Romania, Canada, Spain, and South Africa and now maintains an active field program in the US.
October 4, 2026
In-Person Lecture
Biomarkers As A Proxy For Climate: Plant Remains And Past Climate
Harleena Franklin
Harleena Franklin is a paleoecologist who focuses on rapid change over the last 20,000 years. She got her undergrad degree in Life Sciences at Anglia Ruskin University in Cambridge, UK, her Master's in Library and Information Science from Syracuse University, and another Master's in Bioarchaeology from the University of Aberdeen, and Geology from the University of Buffalo.
Harleena will be talking about tracking water cycle changes using biomarkers as a proxy for climate. Specifically, measuring hydrogen isotopes from leaf waxes and tracking vegetation change with pollen and ancient DNA.
Cash or PayPal is accepted for the opportunity drawing!