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RMDRC News
Hooray, we are finally back into the field! Year after year we go through
the same cycle; happy to end field season, happy to get out and start it
again. Luckily we had a break in the weather that allowed a small group to
explore and excavate Kansas last week. Anthony Maltese has more notes on
this below. This has been a long winter in Colorado and we received another
18 inches at the end of April. What is nice though is that the
temperature warms up and these late snowfalls don't stay around for long.
Plans are already being made to get back into Kansas next week to find more specimens.
For May we have two great
events coming up: "Teacher Appreciation Week" and a special for Moms on
"Mothers Day". Take a nice ride up the mountain pass and join us for these
money saving events.
If you stop in, remember to
peek into the paleo lab. You should see a large number of big dark bones in
the rear of the lab. This is the Apatosaurus that we are working on for the
next several months. Once completed, it will measure 80 feet long and over
14 feet high. We don't really have the room to complete the animal here so
it will go back to its home at the University of Wyoming. Its really amazing
to see how large dinosaurs were and this is a perfect example of that.
Remember, the Prehistoric
Poster Contest is in full swing! You have until May 29 for your submissions
and we have already received some great looking art.
Hope to see you here!
Sincerely,
Dave Ehlert
RMDRC Director
dave@rmdrc.com
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RMDRC Upcoming Events
Monday, May 7 through Sunday, May 13
/ Teacher Appreciation Week
Hey Teachers! The Rocky
Mountain Dinosaur Resource Center invites you to a very special FREE,
appointment only tour during Teacher Appreciation Week, May 7-13, 2007.
Teachers will receive FREE admission during regular museum hours with their
school ID by appointment only. Teachers must call Carla at 719-686-1820 x
111 to arrange a FREE “Teachers Only” tour in advance of their visit.
Sunday, May 13, 2007 / Mom’s Get in FREE at the
Dinosaur Center
Hey, Kids. Looking for a
fun way to spend Mother’s Day with Mom? Bring her to the Rocky Mountain
Dinosaur Resource Center and Mom gets in FREE with a child’s paid
admission. What a great way to bond with Mom and have some great dinosaur
fun. The doors open at 10 am.
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Dino Art 2007 - Prehistoric
Poster Contest
All ages, all skill
levels!
Show off your dino talents for our "Dino Art 2007" Prehistoric Poster Contest.
Entry deadline is May 29th
so continue reading here to get all the details
to enter!
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Lab & Field News
Even though the snow is still falling
here in Woodland Park, the weather has turned nice in western Kansas. This
can mean only one thing: Time to start digging!
The lab crew has just returned from our
first dig, the recovery of a large (20-25 foot long) mosasaur that I
discovered last October. This animal (Capt. Chuck) is fairly complete from
the skull to the base of the tail. Initial prep of the skull suggests that
this animal belongs to the genus Plioplatecarpus. If this ID holds, it
would be only the second Plioplatecarpus discovered in Kansas, and the
only one reported from the Niobrara chalk. Exciting stuff!
We'll be returning to Kansas at the beginning of May to recover yet
another, smaller, mosasaur that Mike Triebold found. More news on that in
the next update!
The field crew hard at work removing nearly 6 feet of overburden
The skull of Capt. Chuck during initial preparation
Thanks,
Anthony Maltese
Curator
anthony@rmdrc.com
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From the Education Desk
The 2006/2007 school year is rapidly
coming to a close. Wow, the school year went by so fast! For those
newsletter readers who brought students to RMDRC for a school tour this
year, I’d like to thank you for taking time to complete the post-tour
survey. As
we begin to work on the
2007/2008 school tour, we will be integrating some of the feedback you
provided. The information from the survey indicated, overall, that you were
very pleased with the school tour and your museum experience. Many teachers
commented that the addition of hands-on fossil exploration for students was
one of the highlights of the tour. In addition, many teachers noted how our
knowledgeable Visitor Experience Guides were able to integrate the school
curriculum into the museum tour. Comments on the surveys included: “It was
fantastic this year”, “We got so much more than we expected”, “The fossils
were awesome”, “The wonderful guide and storyteller made our tour extra
special”, “The kids loved it”, “You brought studying fossils to life”, “We
were all extremely impressed”.
It was a pleasure to meet each teacher,
field trip volunteer, and student this year. We look forward to welcoming
you to RMDRC next school year.
Have a wonderful summer!
Regards,
Pat White
Education Director
pat@rmdrc.com
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Dinosaur News
In Utah, researchers dig up
possible drought clues to
explain the demise of a number of
Allosaurus skeletons.
The first ever dinosaur
skin impression to be found in Japan on display.
Indonesian farmer finds a
large crocodile fossil skull.
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