Tony Scott and Madison on the hunt for dino bones
“What you’re holding in your hand belonged to an animal that lived 70 million years ago,” says Tony Scott, a Science Educator at the Royal Tyrrell Museum, located 135 kilometres northeast of Calgary in Midland Provincial Park.
Five-year-old Madison smiles widely as she discovers the importance of her find while participating in a fossil dig. The porous, hard material she picked up from the sun-baked ground of the Canadian Badlands is indeed the fossilized bone of a dinosaur. It’s a dream come true for any amateur paleontologist.
Going on a Fossil Hunt
Dinosaur detectives can pick up on the trail of evidence left behind by these mighty creatures at the Royal Tyrrell Museum, a world-leading center of paleontology with more than 120,000 dinosaur fossils. Many of these artifacts can be seen in amazing exhibits that cover life on Earth through the ages, from the first creatures to inhabit the sea to the time when sabre-toothed tigers and mastodons were kings of their domain.
There’s also an opportunity to watch paleontologists at work in the prep lab where discovered fossils are being extracted from rocks, cleaned and catalogued on a daily basis.
Can you Dig it?
The museum has many innovative programs designed to educate and entertain. The Dinosite tour has families prospecting for fossils while taking a hike deep into the Badlands surrounding the museum.
Spotting a fossil is easy as long as you know what you are looking for: a hard piece of bone that is shiny on the outside with a porous interior. If you’re still not sure you’ve found the real deal, you can do the finger test. Wet your finger and touch the shiny side of the bone. If the finger sticks, you have a genuine dinosaur fossil, but it isn’t yours to keep. The federal government protects all dinosaur bones found in Canada and although you can touch them, it is against the law to pocket them.
If the kids (and you) are disappointed by this, go back to the Royal Tyrrell for the Casting Workshop. This activity shows participants how to cast their own replica of an ancient fossil, like a raptor claw, using a mould and plaster. It’s not the real thing, but it is a pretty cool souvenir to take home.
Gone to the Dinosaurs
Seven kilometres from the Royal Tyrrell Museum is the town of Drumheller, where dinosaurs rule…literally!
Colourful statues of the creatures reside on every street corner making it perfect to play “spot the dinosaur” while driving through the town. Even the local IGA has a realistic and terrifying T-Rex crashing out of its front wall.
The dino fun in Drumheller doesn’t stop there. Rotary Park, in the downtown, is home to the largest dinosaur replica in the world. Made of concrete and steel, this T-Rex stands at an astounding 25 metres. To get to the top, visitors will have to trek up 106 risers, but the trip is well worth it as it provides a unique perspective of the area through the jaws of a dinosaur.
Looking for a way to cool down after walking down all those steps? Right at the foot of the T-Rex there’s a water spray park, cool fountains and an Aquaplex that will keep the kids entertained for hours.
For more information:
canadianbadlands.com and travelalberta.com
Story: Anna Rodrigues
Images: Phil Raby
© 2007-2010 Trips with Kids - Unauthorized reproduction of this article, video and images is prohibited.