News Item:
The Department of Anthropology at Penn State will hold “Bone and 3D Picture Day” from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Nov. 6, in room 107 of the Carpenter Building on Penn State’s University Park campus. Bones and bone casts from humans, primates, and many other animals will be on display. Bone experts will be on hand to explain why skeletons are much more than something spooky on Halloween. Participants will learn how crime scene investigators determine gender, ethnicity, and age using human skeletal material, and also will find out how scientists learn about the way animals lived by studying their bones.
Researchers studying the differences and facial shape and size in families will be in attendance to take 3D pictures of siblings who attend. The pictures will help researchers to understand resemblance between siblings and how faces grow and develop. (Parental consent is required for participants below the age of 18.) Image collection and filling out consent/information forms takes approximately 5 minutes, and participation is strictly voluntary — participants who come to the bone lab do not have to participate in the study. For more information, contact John Starbuck at jms1043@psu.edu.
Those who wish to volunteer but cannot be at the bone lab on Nov. 6 can get in touch with Starbuck to set up a visit. This research is under the direction of Joan T. Richtsmeier, who can be contacted at jta10@psu.edu, and has been approved by the Office for Research Protections at Penn State.