Mrs. Dahl Finds Her Inner Indiana Jones/Land of the Lost

The last hours of Vonda's Big Adventure were spent roaming around a fantastic dinosaur museum in Dickinson.  This little gem is small but very well done.  I was surprised at how differently I viewed the exhibits after my excursion into "field work" as we in the paleo biz call it.

Cast of a T-rex

Actual leg bone of a T-rex that people are encouraged to touch

I was pretty jazzed to see crocodile scutes on display, no more spectacular than the ones I had heard my pick clink against, had carefully dug around, and then brushed clean.  Cleaned up they were surprisingly white. 

And (ta-da!), there was a Champsosaurus display showing the same vertebrae I had uncovered.

Scutes

Artist rendering of a Champsosaurus

Bones from a Champsosaurus

The most intriguing display was the intact skull of a Brontosaurus that had been found in Montana.  It was spectacular.  Next to the skull was a collage of photos showing the process from first discovery to careful extraction from the soil, to the plaster "jacket" and then the process of carefully cleaning it for display.  These were photos that mean something to me now.  I have done this process myself.  I have an appreciation for how labor-intensive it is to find and share the past with the public. 

I already know that I want to go on another expedition next summer.  When and where will be determined in the winter months when the schedules for the summer are released. 

I have so much newly acquired knowledge to share with my students.  I cannot wait to develop lesson plans utilizing my experiences from the last week.  A fellow teacher whose husband is a rancher gave me a bag of cow bones a few years ago (something that probably doesn't happen all that often in city schools, I am guessing) and encouraged me to bury them in the pebbles of the playground as a paleontology activity.  I have yet to do it, but this fall will be the time.  Can you imagine how much fun the Darlings will have digging for "fossils?" 

And so...

My little adventure comes to a close.  I am mentally stimulated, physically exhausted, professionally energized, and my brain is about to explode with ideas.  I am happier than a fly on a manure pile.

Thanks for coming along.  I hope you enjoyed it too.

The End