Driving through the Karoo from the Mother City to Jozi invokes different emotions in different people.  For many it’s a long, boring, flat road… Others find a sense of peace and stillness in the dry open landscape.  Today I’d like to invite you to add one more dimension to your experience of the South African Karoo.  One of deep time. 

Join me, Claire Browning the curator of Karoo Palaeontology at the Iziko South African Museum, as we time travel to 260 Million Years ago.  We will explore the lives of fossil animals and ecosystems that are being revealed through current research of these ancient landscapes.   

Claire Browning is the curator of Karoo Palaeontology at Iziko South African Museum. She was born in Port Elizabeth (now Gqeberha) and studied at Nelson Mandela University (NMU) where she completed her undergraduate training. Claire spent a year studying photography after which she returned to NMU to complete an MSc in Geology on Bokkeveld Group Fossils and Rocks in the Steytlerville area. She took up a contract lecturer position at NMU before accepting a full-time position as a geologist at the Council for Geoscience (Geological Survey) in Cape Town where she worked for 9 years on a mixture of commercial, mapping and research projects throughout South Africa and Madagascar.

In 2017 Claire joined Iziko Museum where she is involved in exhibitions, education and research. She collaborates widely on Karoo-focussed projects but is currently busy with research in the Cistecephalus and Cynognathus Biozones. Claire is completing her PhD in the Late Ordovician (Cedarberg Formation) based on research that she started while working at the CGS. As a museum scientist she actively collaborates on projects that aim to improve inclusivity of museums in the context of a developing nation. She is actively involved in training and education projects, but also works on exhibitions that enhance the museum visitor experience.

YouTube Live link: https://youtu.be/gB-LX-m2GmI

Note:
This will be a pre-recorded talk and questions must be submitted using the Comments feature on the YouTube page instead of the live Q&A in the usual chat box.