spend the summer excavating bones and introducing the public to the science of dinosaurs. Angela first applied as an intern at the Dinosaur Center when she was a geology and math major. Her passion for the bones kept her coming back year after year. After graduation, she landed a full-time position as Excavation Manager in the summer and Chief Preparer in the lab during the winter. “The fossils made sense to me,” she said. “What we do is science based and math is vital to the job.” She also enjoys the interaction with the public, “I love it when someone sees the bones for the first time. Its all about the excitement of finding something new you can’t replicate anywhere else.”
Wyoming Dinosaur Center
DIG INTO THE PREHISTORIC PAST The hum of excited chatter filled the air
at each new discovery and the workers kept up a steady pace. The swish of small brooms produced a fine dirt that was captured into a dust pan and tossed into a bucket for removal from the pit. “Look at this bone,” an excited paleontologist exclaimed, gesturing for his neighbor to look closer. Another energetic scientist used a dental pick to dislodge a small rock from the black dinosaur bone the team was exposing in the work pit. These particular scientists were all fourth graders from the local elementary school, working for the day at the Wyoming Dinosaur Center.
kids can join a one-day trip back into the Jurassic Period. They excavate for bones, search for fossils, work in the lab, explore the museum and create their own works of art to take home such as fossil casts. “You can’t walk 300 yards without finding dinosaur bones,” Angela said, indicating the fields that border the museum in East Thermopolis. “I’m from Tennessee and we don’t have dinosaurs like this.” Angela herself is a product of the educational programs offered at the Dinosaur Center. Twenty interns, usually college students, are selected each year to
Aside from the Kid's Dig and internships, daily half-day and full-day digs are available for families and friends. “We have entire families that come back every year to work in our sites,” Angela said. “And you need to book ahead because although we have increased the number of people who can dig each day, the spots go fast.” Another new program Angela is excited about is the Generational Program that teams up Grandparents and grandkids at the dig site. There is also a week-long camp for high schoolers that will give older kids an opportunity to get hands-on experience before they head to college. “There is also a week-long camp, the Dinosaur Academy, for highschoolers to receive hands-on experience in the dinosaur pits.” You can book your own dinosaur adventure at WyomingDinosaurCenter.org today!
“You can’t do this in other places,” Angela Reddick, the Educational Director said, referring to the hands-on dinosaur dig, “It’s a once in a lifetime experience!” The Kid's Dig program is just one of several opportunities for Dino enthusiasts of all ages to get an actual experience to work alongside paleologists at a real dinosaur dig site. During the summer, 8 to 12-year-old
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Nate King works in the dig site.
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