The Virginia Tech Paleobiology Research Group had a busy summer in Africa and the western United States, and now they're inviting the public to a party to unpack their specimens, which include dinosaurs, phytosaurs, and other reptiles.

The unpacking party will be be from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., Aug. 31. UPDATE: The lecture will start off at Hahn Hall-North in Room 140 and then move to the Museum of Geosciences in 2062 Derring Hall. Hahn Hall-North is located at 900 West Campus Drive, Blacksburg.

Derring Hall is located at 926 West Campus Drive, Blacksburg.

“This is a unique opportunity to become a citizen-scientist and participate in scientific research, potentially handling a new species unseen by anyone else,” said Sterling Nesbitt, an assistant professor of geosciences in the College of Science.

He and Michelle Stocker, also an assistant professor of geosciences in the College of Science, will be on hand to answer questions.

This program is appropriate for teachers from pre-K through 12th grade, Master Naturalists, Virginia Tech students, interested community members, and children older than 7 (must be accompanied by an adult).

Pre-registration is appreciated. Please email llyn@vt.edu with name, email contact, number of people, and ages of children.

Campus parking permits are not required after 5 p.m., but please allow enough time to park and get to the lecture on time. There is a class change at 7 p.m. that can cause traffic in nearby lots.

Stocker and Nesbitt are affiliated with Virginia Tech’s Global Change Center, an arm of the Fralin Life Science Institute. In April, they made national news with the discovery of the carnivorous dinosaur relative Teleocrater rhadinus and the reclassification of the small, short-snouted phytosaur Diandongosuchus fuyuanensis, which had previously been labeled as a poposauroid.