Conception Bay North's Unique Fossil
Date: Jun 14
7:00 pm
- 8:00 pm
Where: Theatre
Evening Talk
For over 50 years, Newfoundland’s Ediacaran fossils have helped to build understanding of our planet’s earliest complex organisms. Work has largely focused on sites at the Mistaken Point Ecological Reserve (a UNESCO World Heritage Site) and the Discovery UNESCO Global Geopark on the Bonavista Peninsula. New discoveries of fossils in Conception Bay North could help answer some of our longest standing questions about these enigmatic creatures that lived billions of years ago.
Christopher McKean of Memorial University explains the uniqueness of the fossils he’s working with in Conception Bay North, what fossils are preserved there and how they can be protected for future generations.
About the Presenter:
Originally from the UK, Chris completed his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Geology with Palaeobiology at the University of Leicester. It is here that he first learned about the Ediacaran biota and became enthralled by their completely alien nature. This led him to move to Newfoundland and Labrador in 2019 to begin his PhD with a focus on the Ediacaran fossils preserved in Upper Island Cove. Aside from a passion for palaeontology, Chris is an avid promoter of scientific communication.
Today's Events & Programs
Have you ever wondered about the connections between creativity and neurodivergence, such as autism, ADHD, or dyslexia? From attention to detail to pattern recognition and language originality, neurodivergent artists can display talents that could be considered advantages.
Join us for a moderated panel discussion with Dr. Andreae Callanan and Dr. Kate Lahey, who will talk about how neurodivergent people express creativity in unique, unconventional ways.
Part of the discussion will address some challenges for neurodivergent artists during and following the creative process, such as executive functioning, sleep disturbances, and burnout. There will also be an opportunity to ask questions following the presentation.
Cost: $12 plus HST. Free for Rooms members. Register online or by calling (709) 757-8090.
About the Panelists:
Andreae Callanan holds a PhD in English from Memorial and serves as co-convener of the Research and Knowledge Exchange on Critical Disability Studies at the Newfoundland and Labrador Centre for Applied Health Research. Her debut poetry collection, The Debt (Biblioasis, 2021), was shortlisted for the E. J. Pratt Family Poetry Prize and was a runner-up in the Fred Cogswell Award for Excellence in Poetry. Andreae’s creative and critical writing has been published in Riddle Fence, The Walrus, Newfoundland Quarterly, Canadian Notes & Queries, Canadian Journal of Disability Studies, and in Best Canadian Essays 2026. She lives in St. John’s.
Dr. Kate Lahey holds a PhD from the University of Toronto, is the front person of the band Weary, and writes arts criticism. As a musician, writer, scholar, community organizer, and postdoctoral fellow at Memorial’s Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, her research centers on trauma-informed values such as healing, care, empathy, and social justice.
Join MUN School of Music alumni and current students for an evening of exciting big band jazz showcasing the talent of the School of Music community.
The ensemble will perform a selection of compositions by Maria Schneider, Pat Metheny, Christine Jensen, Chucho Valdés and others.
Cash bar (opens at 6:45 pm) and reception to follow the performance at 9 pm
Tickets: $25 plus HST. 10% discount for Rooms members. Get your tickets online or by calling 709-757-8090.