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Dale Gnidovec

Dale Gnidovec

Dale Gnidovec

Collections Manager & Curator

gnidovec.1@osu.edu

614-292-6896

160A Orton Hall

Areas of Expertise

  • Bones
  • General Paleontology

For the past 24 years I have been the Collections Manager (and now Curator) of OSU's Orton Geological Museum.  I have a B.S. in geology from Muskingum College, an M.S. in geology from Fort Hays (Kansas) State University, and have done Ph.D. work at the University of Texas at Austin and the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia.  My main interest is paleontology, with a special interest in dinosaurs.  I have spent parts of the last 13 summers with crews from the Cincinnati Museum Center searching for and digging dinosaurs in Montana.

Here at the Orton Museum my main job is taking care of over 54,000 rocks, minerals and fossils. I also take care of the Museum's exhibit hall and give guided tours. Another part of my job is identifying things that people bring in, such as rocks, minerals, fossils, and bones (I don't do artifacts).

The best part of my job is educating the public about geology. I speak to about three thousand people a year including elementary through high school classes, Scouts and other youth groups, at parks, libraries, nature centers, retirement communities and clubs, and I teach a geology (Earth History) course at OSU.  To reach an even greater audience I also write a geology column that appears periodically in The Columbus Dispatch.

I live in Fairfield County with my wife, three dogs, five cats and two horses.