Dome Talks Speaker Series featuring Riley Black

Dome Talks are back! During this summer series held in our iconic dome, authors, and scientists from across the region share their work, research, and ideas in an informal, engaging setting. Topics span science, history, and the world around us, offering fresh ways to think about big questions, from our place in the universe to the forces shaping life on Earth. Dome Talks will take place in the Fisk Gallery.

Thursday, June 11, 2026
Riley Black
When the Earth Was Green – Tales From Prehistory’s Magnificent Plants
If you want to understand the shape of life on Earth, look to the plants. In this talk based upon her bestselling book When the Earth Was Green, science writer Riley Black will take you back hundreds of millions of years to forests, swamps, and grasslands where plants deeply influenced the evolution of life on our planet. The botanical life of the deep past gave the largest dinosaurs their shape, created parts of the fossil record through oozing resin that trapped insects, and formed dense jungles that led our own ancestors to evolve forward-facing eyes and opposable thumbs. Plants of the past represent more than just an ancient garden. They have been longstanding evolutionary partners whose stories we can still touch today. By the end of this talk, you won’t look at plants the same way again.

Riley Black is the bestselling and award-winning author of The Last Days of the Dinosaurs, When the Earth Was Green, and many other books about ancient life. Her reporting on the latest fossil discoveries has appeared in publications including National Geographic, Smithsonian, Science, and more, and Riley’s been a frequent guest on programs such as NOVA, Science Friday, and All Things Considered to discuss what’s new in paleontology. In 2024, Riley was awarded the Friend of Darwin Award by the National Center for Science Education for her writing and outreach.

Tickets are first come first serve. Purchasing ahead on Eventbrite is encouraged.

General Admission – $20, plus processing fees

Members – $17, plus processing fees

Parking is free, and the museum is accessible to persons with disabilities.