Kirk Johnson, Ray Troll Lecture & Book Signing

‘Cruisin' the Fossil Coastline’ authors to share fossil secrets of North America’s west coast

Saturday,
November 16 

7 p.m.

The Commons at Fort Worden State Park

$5 general public (FREE to PTMSC Octopus & Orca members)
NO TICKET PRE-SALES: doors open at 6pm
books for sale before and after event

We are pleased to announce a lecture and book signing by paleontologist and author Kirk Johnson, Ph.D., and artist Ray Troll.

The duo will discuss their recent book, “Cruisin' the Fossil Coastline,” which they co-authored following a lengthy trip from Baja, Calif., to northern Alaska in search of the fossil secrets of North America’s Pacific coast, one of the oldest on earth. It is a rich ground for discovery, including extinct marine mammals, pygmy mammoths, polar dinosaurs, California walruses and more. The pair will share photographs and artworks created over the last decade for the book, along with tales and anecdotes from their many fossil adventures up and down the west coast.

“We are deeply honored to be hosting this lecture and book signing, Ray and Kirk are real-life superheroes demonstrating the power of the integration of art and science,” said PTMSC Executive Director Janine Boire. “The director of the Smithsonian's Natural History museum teamed up with the indomitable artistic creativity of a wild man from Alaska, what Disney imagineer could have dreamed up that combination of brilliance and fun?”

Johnson is the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History Sant Director, where he oversees the world’s largest natural history collection. Before his arrival at the Smithsonian in 2012, Johnson was a paleontologist at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science, where his research focused on fossil plants and the extinction of the dinosaurs. He is known for his scientific articles, books, museum exhibitions, documentaries and collaborations with artists. His recent documentaries include the three-part NOVA series, “Making North America” (2015) and “The Great Yellowstone Thaw” (2017), which aired on PBS channels. He is currently working on a documentary about the ancient climate of the Arctic and Antarctic.

Kirk Johnson (l) and Ray Troll (r), photo by Bob Halinen.

Ketchikan fine artist and musician Ray Troll draws his inspiration from extensive field work and the latest scientific discoveries in the fields of ichthyology and paleontology. He is widely known for his surreal artwork in books, museum exhibits, public art and a popular T-shirt line. Troll was the art director for the Miami Museum of Science’s “Amazon Voyage” traveling exhibit, and he installed “The Buzz Saw Sharks of Long Ago” at the Idaho Museum of Natural History, Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium in Tacoma, the Alaska SeaLife Center in Seward and the Oregon Museum of Natural and Cultural History. Among Troll’s many awards, he received the Alaska Governor’s Award for the Arts in 2006 and a gold medal for distinction in the natural history arts by the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia in 2007.

Co-sponsored with Centrum and Port Townsend School of Arts