SUNY Potsdam Geology Professor Emeritus Offers Free Planetarium Shows and Geoscience Programs

Dr. Frank Revetta Presents Three Free Educational Series at SUNY Potsdam this Fall

POTSDAM, NY (09/03/2014)(readMedia)-- Geology Professor Emeritus Dr. Frank Revetta will offer three free educational series this fall at SUNY Potsdam -- including his popular planetarium shows and seismology workshops, as well as a new geoscience theatre program.

All are welcome to attend these free educational events, so mark your calendars!

Planetarium shows are held every other Thursday afternoon, at 4 p.m., in the College's planetarium, located in the basement of Stowell Hall. Each show lasts about 45 minutes, and guests of all ages are welcome. Attendees are encouraged to arrive early. The Fall 2014 planetarium show schedule is as follows:

  • Sept. 11: "Circumpolar Constellations"
  • Sept. 25: "Winter Constellations"
  • Oct. 9: "The Brightest Stars"
  • Oct. 23: "Spring and Summer Constellations"
  • Nov. 13: "Worldwide Constellations"
  • Dec. 4: "Constellations of the Zodiac, and How Astronomers Locate Stars"

Seismology workshops will also be held on alternating Thursdays, at 4 p.m. The workshops will be held in Timerman Hall Room B23, Revetta's seismology laboratory. Class size is limited to 16 participants, so everyone is able to use a computer for the sessions. The Fall 2014 seismology workshop schedule is as follows:

  • Sept. 18: "How are Earthquakes Detected?"
  • Oct. 2: "When do Earthquakes Occur?"
  • Oct. 16: "Seismic Waves"
  • Oct. 30: "Seismogram Interpretation"
  • Nov. 20: "Tsunamis and Waves that Shook the World"
  • Dec. 11: "Local Quakes"

The geoscience theatre program will feature free lunchtime scientific video screenings. All screenings will be offered on Mondays and Tuesdays at noon in Revetta's lab, located in Timerman Hall Room B23. The Fall 2014 geoscience theatre program schedule is as follows:

  • Sept. 8: "100 Greatest Discoveries"
  • Sept. 9: "Local Earthquakes"
  • Sept. 15: "Asteroid and the Dinosaurs"
  • Sept. 16: "Loma Prieta Earthquake"
  • Sept. 22: "Mt. Pinatuba"
  • Sept. 23: "Birth of a Theory: Plate Tectonics"
  • Sept. 29: "Lewis and Clark Expedition"
  • Sept. 30: "Earthquake"
  • Oct. 6: "Storm that Drowned a City"
  • Oct. 7: "World's Deadliest Earthquakes"
  • Oct. 20: "World's Deadliest Volcanoes"
  • Oct. 21: "Wave that Shook the World"
  • Nov. 10: "Magnetic Storms"
  • Nov. 11: "Northridge Earthquakes"
  • Nov. 17: "Vesuvius"
  • Nov. 18: "Japan Earthquake"
  • Nov. 24: "Earthquake is Coming"
  • Nov. 25: "San Francisco Earthquake"
  • Dec. 1: "Super Volcanoes"
  • Dec. 2: "Mexican Earthquake"
  • Dec. 8: "30 Years of National Geographic"
  • Dec. 9: "An Inconvenient Truth"

For more information about the planetarium shows, seismology workshops or geoscience theatre program at SUNY Potsdam's Department of Geology, please contact Frank Revetta at (315) 267-3441 or revettfa@potsdam.edu, or Roberta Greene at (315) 267-2286 or greenera@potsdam.edu.

To learn more about SUNY Potsdam's Department of Geology, visit www.potsdam.edu/academics/AAS/Geology.

Founded in 1816, and located on the outskirts of the beautiful Adirondack Park, The State University of New York at Potsdam is one of America's first 50 colleges. SUNY Potsdam currently enrolls approximately 4,300 undergraduate and graduate students. Home to the world-renowned Crane School of Music, SUNY Potsdam is known for its handcrafted education, challenging liberal arts and sciences core, excellence in teacher training and leadership in the performing and visual arts. Empowered by a culture of creativity, the campus community recently launched Take the Lead: The Campaign for Potsdam, which aims to raise $27 million by the College's bicentennial in 2016.

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