Est. June 3, 1961
Experience Life
Three Billion Years In The Making April 2017
From the Director
Raptor Review
Issue 46
A quarterly publication for your information and enjoyment
By Dr. Ken Carpenter
Two new exhibits opened since the last newsletter. One briefly discusses geologic time so that visitors have a better understanding about how we know the oldest rocks in Utah are 2.7 billion years old, or that the dinosaurs from the Cleveland-Lloyd dinosaur quarry are 150 million years old. The second newly installed exhibit features the oldest fossils in Utah (766 million years old) and briefly discusses the controversial topic on the origin of life. Work has started on an exhibit featuring the sail-back reptile Dimetrodon and railing exhibits on the Cleveland-Lloyd dinosaurs. The museum recently installed an interactive game called Scarab Hunt. Using a free app from ITunes and Google Play, players locate beacons with their smart phones and then answer questions about the exhibit. Developing questions and answers was a team effort by the museum staff. We will continue to develop the game over the next few months. Come in and give it a try! Screen shot of the new game, This year’s “Cocktails with called Scarab Hunt. Curators” for our premier members at the Allosaurus and Utahraptor levels, will probably occur in September. I will talk about my experimental work on how bones get buried and fossilized – yes, I have artificially fossilized bone. If this sounds interesting, I hope you will consider raising your membership to the premier level so that you can join us.
Last year we had a donation of some weird 298 millionyear-old shark teeth that look like artichoke leaves. In researching these teeth, I discovered that they are the first reported discovery for the state. This shark, called Petalodus, was first described in 1838 and the location of the original specimen has been lost for 170 years. With a bit of dogged sleuthing and many emails later, I managed to relocate the specimen in a small museum in Switzerland! I have completed a short manuscript on the Utah teeth with Linn Ottinger, who used to run the rock shop at the north end of Moab and who found the teeth. They will be featured in an exhibit on horn corals and other fossils from the Honaker Trail Formation. Thank you Linn! Finally, I am sad to report that the museum’s first museum director, Don Burge, is currently in the Pinnacle Nursing and Rehabilitation Center. It was Don’s vision that got this museum started back in 1961. We wish you the best, Don. I thank all of you for your membership and support of the museum. Watch for all the great changes coming in 2017!
Breaking news: Burning of the pithouse.