Colorado Scientific Society – Earth Sciences since 1882
The oldest scientific society in the Rocky Mountain region
Founded in 1882, the Colorado Scientific Society promotes knowledge, the understanding of science, and its application to human needs.
We focus primarily on earth science, welcoming members with interests in all fields of science. Learn more.
Note: The Colorado Scientific Society has adopted the federal fiscal year calendar of Oct 1 – Sept 30 for our expenses and membership. The vast majority of our renewals start late in the calendar year (~Nov) and dribble into the following spring (~March) with very few received outside that window.
Check the FY 2026 CSS Paid Membership List for your status.
Social Media accounts for Colorado Scientific Society
Instagram (@coloradoscientificsociety)
Bluesky (@coloradoscientific)
We will post announcements like meetings, talks, field trips, and student opportunities on these sites.
Future Colorado Scientific Society Meetings and Field Trips
We normally hold monthly meetings from September through May.
Our meetings are normally now both in-person and virtual.
Colorado Scientific Society 2026 Past Presidents’ Dinner and Program
Reconstructing a Cretaceous Arctic marine ecosystem and tackling a fossil “who-dung-it” mystery
Dr. Karen Chin, University of Colorado, Boulder
CU Museum of Natural History
Dinner and presentation at the Mount Vernon Canyon Club
24933 Clubhouse Circle, Golden, CO 80401
(on Lookout Mtn., off I-70)
We are in Canyon Room with it’s balcony overlooking Clear Creek and the Divide. It is accessed by both stairs and an elevator.
Social Time 5:30 pm
Dinner Service 7:00 pm
Program 8:00-9:00 pm
Everyone is welcome.
Menu
Dinner Buffet with Cash Bar
$70 regular
$30 student (for the first 10 students)
Salads:
- Mixed Green Salad (GF): Mixed greens, blue cheese crumbles, granny smith apples, and pecans served with maple vinaigrette dressing
- Peach Panzanella Salad: Peaches, raspberries, grilled ciabatta, arugula, Bermuda Onion and goat cheese with white balsamic vinaigrette
Entrées:
- Colorado Pan Seared Chicken (GF): Frenched chicken breast, poblano sauce, corn relish
- Peach Pork Chop (GF): Colorado Inspired with peach chutney
Starch: Maple roasted sweet potato hash (GF)
Vegetable: Bistro seasonal vegetables (GF)
Rolls with butter
Drinks: Coffee, Tea, Iced tea
Dessert: Petite Gourmet Dessert Display: Chocolate cup mousse, Key lime pie cup
Online Registration and Payment via PayPal
Please make online reservations by Monday, September 7th.
Use this form to Register for CSS Past Presidents’ Dinner by USPS mail with a check.
Send in Reservation by USPS with check
The presentation will also be available via Zoom.
The link to join the Zoom meeting will be posted here later.
Reconstructing a Cretaceous Arctic marine ecosystem and tackling a fossil “who-dung-it” mystery
Dr. Karen Chin, University of Colorado, Boulder
Professor and Curator of Paleontology, CU Museum of Natural History
Abstract: Fossil evidence from Devon Island in the Canadian High Arctic sheds light on a marine ecosystem that flourished in the warm temperate Arctic during the greenhouse world of the Cretaceous. A thick sedimentary sequence of the Kanguk Formation preserves dense concentrations of planktonic microfossils, modest numbers of invertebrate and vertebrate fossils, and innumerable coprolites (fossil feces). These fossils reveal a surprisingly productive ancient ecosystem and shed light on paleoenvironmental conditions in the Cretaceous Arctic. But why are many more coprolites than body fossils found in the area, and who produced the feces? Recent research helps answer the “who” and “why” of this “who-dung-it” mystery.
Dr. Karen Chin studies the structure & dynamics of Mesozoic ecosystems. Her work focuses on how ancient communities of organisms differed from those in modern ecosystems, and what types of interactions occurred within vertebrate communities and the environments they shared. She is renowned as a leading expert in the study of coprolites (fossilized feces) and employs a multidisciplinary approach involving geological, biological, and chemical characteristics of coprolites, trace fossils and body fossils. Her work focuses on understanding interactions among ancient organisms, and deducing the environmental conditions in which these organisms lived and were fossilized.
Also see:
Discovering the Past Through Dino Poop
Episode #40 Who Dung It? with Karen Chin | Paleo Nerds
Flyer for 2026 Colorado Scientific Society Past Presidents’ Dinner
Online Registration and Payment via PayPal
Please make online reservations by Monday, September 7th.
Use this form to Register for CSS Past Presidents’ Dinner by USPS mail with a check.
Send in Reservation by USPS with check
Tentative CSS field trip, Sat.-Sun., Sept. 26-27, 2026, to NE Colorado
Bob Raynolds, Ned Sterne, and others are working on plans for a weekend field trip to the northeast corner of Colorado. It will concentrate on water, archeology, and Oligocene geology. Highlights will include a paleo chert quarry long used by indigenous peoples to get material for stone tools. We will also consider the aquifers (Ogallala and river gravels) and the importance of water for irrigation and our challenges of keeping downstream neighbors whole as the river flows diminish. Details will be forthcoming!
Geological Society of America
GSA Connects 2026 Annual Meeting
October 11-14, 2026
Colorado Convention Center, Denver, Colorado
Plans are in progress for CSS to share an exhibit hall booth at the meeting with the Friends of Dinosaur Ridge
Several field trips on the meeting program will be led or co-led by CSS members.
The Colorado Scientific Society will be hosting a Topical Session:
Peaks, Plains, and Plateaus: 150 years of Colorado Science Discoveries
CSS October Meeting
Thursday, October 15, 2026
Dr. Josh Lively, Curator of Paleontology
Utah State University Eastern, Prehistoric Museum
In-person Meeting at Calvary Church, Golden
All are welcome – no admission charge
Join us at in-person after 6:30 pm for social time before the meeting.
Join Zoom meetings after 6:45
Meeting and Program begin at 7:00
The Link to Join CSS October Meeting via Zoom will be posted here later
The details about attending the meeting in person at the Golden Calvary Church follow the details about the talk.
Speaker
Joshua Lively, Ph.D., is the Curator of Paleontology at the Prehistoric Museum in Price, Utah. His main research interest is the spatial and temporal change in ecosystems – both freshwater and marine – during the Late Cretaceous, or last 34 million years of the Age of Dinosaurs. Lively’s specialties include turtles and mosasaurs, as both groups are well represented in the fossil record. He has spent the last 15 years conducting fieldwork in Utah and beyond.
In-person Meeting at Calvary Church, Golden
All are welcome – no admission charge
6:30 pm – Social time begins at Calvary Church Golden. Enter off 14th St.
6:45 pm – Join Zoom meeting, if attending remotely
7:00 PM – Meeting starts.
Please arrive early. Church doors are locked, and no one will be at the door to let you in after 7:00 pm.
Calvary Church, 1320 Arapahoe St, Golden, CO 80401
Enter off 14th St., going in via the main glass doors on 14th St.
Do not enter the old church above 13th St.
Go through building following the CSS signs to the Community Rooms 1 and 2, where we meet.
The church doors must stay locked, and we will have a person to let you in at the doors off 14th St.
They want to see the presentation too, so please arrive before 7:00 pm.
There will be a phone number that you can text to be let in if you arrive late.
Parking
On street parking is available close by, west of Washington Ave in downtown Golden. The “Public Parking” NE of the Church is free for registered church members but not for us. Lowest parking rate is $5.75 for three hours; one pays using a QR code shown on signs there. For that parking rate, it says one is supposed to park on the upper (roof top) level. When driving uphill (southwest) on 14th St, the rooftop entrance is the 2nd entrance to the parking structure, immediately before the church.
For free parking: 14th Street usually has parking within a block of the entrance to the Church. Coming from the north (CO 93) or northeast (CO 58, between North and South Table Mountains), come southeast on Washington Street, turn right (southwest) on 13th Street, Turn left on Cheyenne St. Go up the hill and turn right on 14th Street. Park on your right.
Coming from the east or or southeast on US 6 (6th Ave.), exit US 6 onto 19th St. going NE. Turn left on Illinois St. Go through the Mines campus and turn right on 14th St. If you can, park NE of Cheyenne St.
When 14th Street is full, Mines may have scheduled an event.
There is Golden city parking southwest of downtown Golden. This is downhill from (northwest of) the Church in the half block between 13th and 12th streets, between Arapahoe St. on the SW and Miners Alley on the NE. There is usually space here. The Foss Lot (SE half of the parking area) is private and says “Paid Parking”. The public Arapahoe Lot (NW half of the parking area) says “Paid Parking 7-5” and should be free.
To get to the meeting, go up the hill along the church by Arapahoe St.
You can also find parking in the streets below (north of) the Church and west of downtown Golden.
Copies of The Geology of Boulder County by Raymond Bridge (2004) will be available for $20.
CSS November Meeting
Poster Night with Lightning Talks
Thursday, November 19, 2026
For Students and Early Career Earth Scientists
In-person Meeting at Calvary Church, Golden
CSS December Pot Luck Dinner and
Past President’s Address
December, 2026
Speaker: Amy Atwater, Director of Paleontology, Friends of Dinosaur Ridge
and current President of the Colorado Scientific Society
More details coming
Please pay your CSS dues for 2026!
You may pay dues online or print out a PDF of the membership form and mail it to us with a check. Continuing your membership in CSS will enable us to continue all our ongoing programs, including our field trips, virtual meetings, Student Research Grants, and more.
See Membership and Donations for the CSS membership PDF and our online membership payment form.
Regular CSS Membership is $25;
Student Membership, $5;
Life Membership, $395.
Send your membership payment, if not done through our online membership payment form, to Colorado Scientific Society P.O. Box 150495 Lakewood, CO 80215-0495.
Thank you!
New and renewal memberships in November and December are also good for the next year.
Read past Colorado Scientific Society Newsletters
Archive of Past Colorado Scientific Society Meetings
Including video recordings of most meetings
About the Colorado Scientific Society
The Colorado Scientific Society was founded in 1882 as a forum for the exchange of observations and ideas on the topics of earth science. Lecture topics largely focus on earth science, and are open to the public. In addition to our monthly lecture series, the society is also active in public service. We fund student research grants, construct and post signs that describe local geologic features, and organize and lead field trips.
The Colorado Scientific Society normally meets on the third Thursday of the month from September through May. (In the summer months of June-August, too many members are out in the field.)
6:30 – Social time at in-person meetings
6:45 – Join Zoom meetings
7:00 – Meeting and Program begin
The Colorado Scientific Society is an Associated Society of the Geological Society of America
Please send comments about the Colorado Scientific Society website to ColoSciSoc.webmaster at gmail.com
We meet at the Calvary Church in Golden and appreciate them sharing their facilities.
We have our December Business Meeting and Potluck Supper at New Terrain Brewing Company and appreciate their support.
