Palaeo Jam

A journey into accessibility- Digging for fossils from a wheelchair

Being able to access field trips to dig up fossils has long been a central feature of studying palaeontology, and being a palaeontologist. But what if you have been born with a rare and severe genetic condition, such as Spinal Muscular Atrophy type 1 like Eleanor Beidatsch? As a nine year old, Eleanor dreamed of being a palaeontologist, but always presumed her advanced physical disability, and use of a wheelchair would make “digging about in the dirt for fossils” impossible.
 
But Eleanor Beidatsch is many things, and being passionate and determined, is just a part of of it. In this episode of Palaeo Jam, recorded as part of our National Science Week tour, host Michael Mills chats with Eleanor about the challenges faced by students with disabilities in accessing opportunities to study, her own amazing journey to studying palaeontology at the University of New England, about her fascinating research into velvet worms, and about what comes next.
 
Check out this video from Eleanor’s YouTube channel of her remarkable adventure in 2016, to a paleontological dig in the opal rich desert town of Lightning Ridge, New South Wales…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aTGxIR_yaNo
 
Stay up top date with a documentary project involving Eleanor, her family, and colleagues during their time at the 2023 Palaeo Down Under conference and the Kalbarri field-trip…
https://www.australasianpalaeontologists.org/documentary
 
Here’s a story about Eleanor’s journey on the University of New England’s website…
https://www.une.edu.au/connect/news/2022/09/unearthing-discrimination-in-science
 
Along with studying palaeontology, Eleanor is a disability rights journalist, and writes for the ABC…
https://www.abc.net.au/news/eleanor-beidatsch/101651018
 
You can find Eleanor on Instagram at…
https://www.instagram.com/eleanor.beidatsch/
 
And on Twitter at…
https://twitter.com/EBeidatsch
 
Here’s a link to Eleanor’s blog Accessible 4 Me…
https://accessible4me.wordpress.com/
 
For more information on the research being undertaken by the team at University of New England’s Palaeoscience Research Centre, head to 
https://www.une.edu.au/research/research-centres-institutes/palaeoscience-research-centre
 
Palaeo Jam host Michael Mills is on Twitter at https://twitter.com/Heapsgood
 
For more info on his work as Creative Director, HeapsGood Productions, head to… https://linktr.ee/HeapsGoodProductions

Palaeo research from the high country

What do we know about the boundary between the Ediacarans and the Cambrians, an astonishing predator from the early Cambrian, and one of the things palaeontologists get asked about more than just about anything… How did some dinosaurs get so big?
 
We’re LIVE for a second time in Armidale for National Science Week at The Welder’s Dog Brewery, on Anaiwan country, also known as high country, in the state of New South Wales, Australia.
 
In this episode, we discuss some of the fascinating paleontological research going on at the University of New England through the Palaeoscience Research Centre. To do this, Palaeo Jam host Michael Mills is joined by Professor John Paterson, Dr Marissa Betts, and Dr Nic Campione.
 
You can find our more about John’s research from his University of New England profile at https://www.une.edu.au/staff-profiles/ers/jpater20
 
Marissa’s UNE profile at https://www.une.edu.au/staff-profiles/ers/marissa-betts
 
And Nic’s UNE profile at https://www.une.edu.au/staff-profiles/ers/dr-nicolas-campione
 
For more information on the research being undertaken by the team at University of New England’s Palaeoscience Research Centre, head to 
https://www.une.edu.au/research/research-centres-institutes/palaeoscience-research-centre
 
Palaeo Jam host Michael Mills is on Twitter at https://twitter.com/Heapsgood
 
For more info on his work as Creative Director, HeapsGood Productions, head to… https://linktr.ee/HeapsGoodProductions

Stories of the high country

We’re LIVE in Armidale for National Science Week at The Welder’s Dog Brewery, and in this episode, recorded on Anaiwan country, we’re talking about the creatures that once dwelt in this place, and nearby.
Of dinosaurs such as “Lightning Claw”, giant marsupials that left teeth marks on the bones of other giant marsupials, and tiny fossils too small for the naked eye to see. Along the way, we talk about the extraordinary changes that have taken place in the geology of the region that at one time during the Permian, was a volcanic wasteland, at an earlier time, was under the sea, and that is now, the highest city in Australia. In this episode we are reminded that wherever you are, there are fascinating prehistoric stories just waiting to be discovered!
 
To discuss all this and more, host Michael Mills is joined by Professor John Paterson, Dr Marissa Betts, and Dr Nic Campione, all from the University of New England, right here in Armidale.
 
You can find our more about John’s research from his University of New England profile at https://www.une.edu.au/staff-profiles/ers/jpater20
 
Marissa’s UNE profile at https://www.une.edu.au/staff-profiles/ers/marissa-betts
 
And Nic’s UNE profile at https://www.une.edu.au/staff-profiles/ers/dr-nicolas-campione
 
For more information on the research being undertaken by the team at University of New England’s Palaeoscience Research Centre, head to 
https://www.une.edu.au/research/research-centres-institutes/palaeoscience-research-centre
 
Palaeo Jam host Michael Mills is on Twitter at https://twitter.com/Heapsgood
 
For more info on his work as Creative Director, HeapsGood Productions, head to… https://linktr.ee/HeapsGoodProductions

A Prof and his pals

In a special edition of Palaeo Jam, recorded LIVE at the Western Australian Museum Boola Bardip, guest host Professor Flint chats with some of his Western Australian palaeo pals, about their favourite fossils, their best moments in the field, and a broad range of other palaeo-themed topics.
 
In a chat amongst friends, we hear about the group’s favourite fossils that include a giant skink, a tree kangaroo on the Nullarbor Plain, an Aussie sauropod, and a kangaroo with fangs! Favourite moments of discovery include finding an ancient Bilby, the skull and brain case of a sauropod, and a Western Australian plesiosaur. We also learn about stinky days in the lab, and what brought each of the panel to be involved with palaeontology.
 
This episode was recorded during the Museum’s “Biggest Science Lab Ever” event during National Science Week.
 
The panelists for this episode are Dr Kenny Travouillon, Mammalogy Curator at the Western Australian Museum Boola Bardip; Dr Kailah Thorn, Technical Officer for Terrestrial Vertebrates at the Western Australian Museum Boola Bardip; Associate Professor Natalie Warburton, of Murdoch University; and Dr Stephen F. Poropat, School of Planetary and Earth Sciences, Curtin University.
 
For more info on Prof Flint, including links to his albums of palaeo songs, head to https://linktr.ee/ProfessorFlint
 
You can find Kailah on Twitter at https://twitter.com/kailah_thorn
Kailah’s research profile is at…
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Kailah-Thorn
 
Kenny can be found here…
https://twitter.com/TravouillonK
Kenny’s research profile is here…
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Kenny-Travouillon
 
 
You can find Natalie on Twitter at https://twitter.com/aNATomy_Lab
You can also find Natalie’s profile at Murdoch University at http://profiles.murdoch.edu.au/myprofile/natalie-warburton/
 
Stephen’s research profile can be found here…
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Stephen-Poropat

The Rocks Remember...

World renowned geologist, Professor Walter Alvarez once noted that…
“Rocks are the key to Earth history, because solids remember but liquids and gases forget.”
 
In this episode of Palaeo Jam, host Michael Mills chats with Professor Tom Raimondo about how learning about our local geology can help us better connect to where we live. Of how rocks are places where stories from the past are etched, and that by learning to read the rocks around us, we open ourselves to a whole new world of connection to the past, and understanding.
 
Tom Raimondo is Professor of Geology and Geochemistry and Professorial Lead for STEM at the University of South Australia. He is a passionate science communicator who has been recognised as the 2019 SA Science Excellence Awards STEM Educator of the Year, and in 2017 was named in the ABC Top 5 Under 40. 
 
For more info on Tom and his work, head to…
https://people.unisa.edu.au/tom.raimondo
https://twitter.com/ROKmondo
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8nlPNwP0bcho0tTVomlwyg
 
The iconic landscape of the Flinders Ranges in South Australia holds a remarkable history, cultural heritage and scientific value that has been unlocked through the power of the ground breaking 360VR Flinders Ranges experience mentioned in this episode.
You can get free access to this brilliant experience at https://www.projectlive.org.au/
 
 
Palaeo Jam host Michael Mills is on Twitter at https://twitter.com/Heapsgood
 
For more info his work as Creative Director, HeapsGood Productions, head to… https://linktr.ee/HeapsGoodProductions
 
This episode was recorded LIVE during South Australia’s Science Alive event, the STEM Day Out, as part of National Science Week.

Vamp it up!

The Virtual Museum of Australian Palaeontology, or VAMP, as it is known, was launched several months ago to much acclaim. So, what is it, why does it matter, and how has it been going?
 
In another episode recorded live during the Palaeo Jam National Science Week tour, we discuss why in an age of of misinformation, it is important that researchers and the public have access to information, and why projects such as VAMP are a great way of doing just that.
 
In this episode we also talk in a more general sense about access to academic collections and research, touching on a model that sees a great deal of publicly funded research hidden behind paywalls, and not accessible to the public. 
 
Joining Palaeo Jam host Michael Mills are three of the original VAMPers, all from Flinders University, in Dr Alice Clement, Dr Aaron Camens, and PhD candidate Jacob van Zoelen.
 
You can check out the VAMP website at… https://sites.flinders.edu.au/vamp/
 
You can follow Aaron on Twitter at https://twitter.com/DiprotoRon, and check out his Flinders University profile at https://sites.flinders.edu.au/palaeontology/home/people/academics/aaron-camens/
 
Check out Alice’s blog posts at https://draliceclement.com, and follow Alice on Twitter at https://twitter.com/DrAliceClement
 
You can follow Jacob at https://twitter.com/Zoelenotherium
 
Michael is on Twitter at https://twitter.com/Heapsgood
 
For more info on the project team we are a part of, head to… https://linktr.ee/HeapsGoodProductions

The Great Dying

Before there were dinosaurs, Queensland, Australia was home to a fascinating array of reptiles, amphibians, and the ancestors of mammals. And then, 252 million years ago, just about everything on Earth died! So let’s talk who survived, and why!
In an episode supported by National Science Week, host Michael Mills is joined by Dr Espen Knutsen, Senior Curator of Palaeontology at the Museum of Tropical Queensland, and James Cook University, and Ash Turner, PhD Candidate at James Cook University. Along the way, the three talk about some of the many and varied creatures of the Permian and the subsequent Triassic Periods. While Michael discovers an awesome new term for a particular group of animals... the Pigs of the Permian, which he's decided may well be the name of his next album or band!
Dr Espen Knutsen is the Senior Curator of Palaeontology at the Museum of Tropical Queensland and James Cook University. He has a special interest in the diversity, evolution and ecology of Mesozoic reptiles, such as ichthyosaurs, plesiosaurs and dinosaurs.
 
You can check out his research portfolio at James Cook University at https://research.jcu.edu.au/portfolio/espen.knutsen/ and can follow him on Twitter at https://twitter.com/e_m_knutsen
 
Ash Turner is a palaeontologist from Adelaide, looking at vertebrates of Triassic South East Queensland, particularly the temnospondyl amphibians both large and small.
 
You can find Ash on ResearchGate at https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Ashten-Turner-2
 
You can find Palaeo Jam host Michael on Twitter at https://twitter.com/Heapsgood
 
To connect with Dinosaur University on Facebook, follow us at https://www.facebook.com/DinosaurUniversity
 
And on Twitter at… https://twitter.com/DinosaurUni

Raising the Dead

A palaeontologist and an archaeologist walk into a bar… The Afterlife Bar, that is, at the Western Australian Museum, Boola Bardip, thanks to National Science Week. So, then what happened? Listen in, to find out!
 
We’re in Perth, Whadjuk Country, Western Australia, and we’re here to talk about dead things, how we find them, what we do with them when we’ve found them, and what those dead things might tell us about the past! We’re also here to demystify the differences between these two popular sciences, and explore the things the two sciences share.
 
In this special edition of Palaeo Jam, Palaeo Jam host Michael Mills, palaeontologist Professor Kate Trinajstic and archaeologist Dr Sven Ouzman discuss all of these things, and more!
 
To follow the unfoldingly odd thing that is Twitter in regard to each of this episode’s human panel, head to https://twitter.com/KateTRINAJSTIC, https://twitter.com/crar_m, https://twitter.com/UWAArchaeology, and https://twitter.com/Heapsgood
 
You can find out more about Dr Sven Ouzman at https://www.uwa.edu.au/Profile/Sven-Ouzman
 
Kate Trinajstic’s research profile can be found at… https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Kate-Trinajstic
 
To learn more about Michael, and all of his incarnations, you can begin by heading to https://www.heapsgood.com.au/', and see what happens frome there!