A T. rex named Sue

When you’re a paleontologist, every lecture you give is earth-shaking. At least, some of the animals you talk about are.

Dr. James Lamb, curator of paleontology at McWane Science Center in Birmingham, visited the Anniston Museum of Natural History Thursday to talk about the dinosaurs that once roamed the coastal plains of Alabama.

The Alabama he described was very different than Alabama is today. Much of what is now Alabama was under water because the warm temperatures would have melted the ice caps.

“If you lived in Anniston, you’d be about 20 minutes from the beach,” he said.

Lamb’s lecture is part of the museum’s special lecture series in conjunction with the “T. Rex Named Sue” exhibit.

As of Thursday, more than 17,400 people have visited the museum since the resin cast replica of the Sue’s skeleton was put on display Sept. 22, according to museum staff. About 35 people gathered in the museum’s lobby for the lecture.

Shawn Housewright of Oxford brought his two sons, Richard and Marcus. Richard, 10, said he wants to be a paleontologist like Lamb one day and said he wants to find velociraptor fossils.

“Ever since he was able to say the word ‘dinosaur’ that’s been his main attraction,” his father said.

Lamb, who grew up in Birmingham and went to Huffman High School, said his interest in paleontology was awakened as a fifth-grader, when he found a rock containing a sea-shell fossil while playing football.

“I actually got tackled and I was underneath four or five guys, and that rock was right here,” he said, pointing to a spot between his shoulder blades.

Since then, Lamb has been on hundreds of fossil digs and has worked at the North Carolina State Museum of Natural Sciences, the Red Mountain Museum and the University of Alabama Museum of Natural History. He also has taught geology at North Carolina State University and Wake Technical Community College.

Dan Spaulding, curator of exhibits for the Anniston museum, said Lamb’s lecture was a rare opportunity.

“I’ve asked him questions before, but I’d never been able to sit down and listen to him do a presentation before,” Spaulding said. “That’s a real treat.”

Dr. Jim Lacefield, a retired adjunct professor from the University of North Alabama, will speak Nov. 15 as the next installment in the lecture series.