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Montana Dinosaur Center Receives $9,400 for Fossil Preservation!

Hey there, fellow dinosaur enthusiasts! We’ve got some fantastic news to share with you. The Montana Dinosaur Center has recently received a $9,400 grant from the Foundation for Montana History. This generous funding will help us in two significant ways: retaining staff and purchasing materials for building custom support jackets for our precious dinosaur fossils. Let’s dive into how this grant will impact our beloved center and contribute to its ongoing mission.

A Little About the Montana Dinosaur Center:

The Montana Dinosaur Center is the only independent non-profit, non-governmental museum in the state to offer same-day, hands-on dinosaur fossil expeditions. Our gallery is home to some pretty remarkable exhibits, like the world’s first discovered dinosaur babies in a nest and the world’s longest dinosaur skeleton, Seismo the seismosaurus, as recognized by the Guinness Book of World Records.

The Foundation for Montana History:

The Foundation for Montana History is our amazing benefactor, providing support to nonprofit and tax-exempt organizations dedicated to preserving local history across Montana. Their Grants Program has awarded over $1.5 million in grants to more than 300 recipients in nearly 200 Montana communities between 2012 and 2023. We’re incredibly grateful to be part of this legacy.

How the Grant Helps:

The $9,400 grant we’ve received will have a tremendous impact on our center’s work in two main areas:

Internship Program:

We’ll be able to create and extend internships giving young professionals invaluable hands-on experience in fossil conservation and an opportunity to learn from our seasoned professionals. This investment will help shape the next generation of paleontologists and fossil conservators, ensuring the future of this amazing field of study.

Fossil Preservation:

The grant will also allow us to purchase materials to create custom support jackets for dinosaur fossils. These jackets are essential for long-term safe storage, providing additional support and protection for these fragile pieces of history. This will ensure that our fossils remain intact for future research and public display.

We’re beyond excited about this $9,400 grant from the Foundation for Montana History! With this financial boost, the Montana Dinosaur Center can continue its mission to provide hands-on educational experiences, promote research, and preserve our world’s physical and cultural heritage. The funding will create new opportunities for aspiring paleontologists and improve our ability to preserve valuable dinosaur fossils.

We’re incredibly grateful for the Foundation for Montana History’s commitment to preserving and promoting Montana’s unique history, and we’re confident that their support will have a lasting impact on the Montana Dinosaur Center and its future endeavors. Stay tuned for more updates on our progress, and as always, happy fossil hunting!

At the Montana Dinosaur Center we’re all about hands-on educational experiences. We want to make sure the public can help with actual research sites and learn from researchers. Our mission also includes promoting research and publications based on the objects and information we collect, and preserving and interpreting items relating to the physical and cultural heritage of the world for public education and enjoyment. We’re dedicated to sharing information with other organizations to advance science and make it accessible to everyone.

Montana Dinosaur Center Receives Grants

Bynum Montana, September 29, 2022 — The Montana Dinosaur Center has been awarded two grants this summer to help make their fossil collection more accessible to researchers and the public. The Association of Registrars and Collections Specialists (ARCS) awarded an Internship Stipend Grant to Maya Krygiel, intern staff at the Montana Dinosaur Center, to digitize the Center’s collection of dinosaur fossil specimens. The Montana Dinosaur Center also received a Youth Technology Grant from 3 Rivers Communications to create a pilot program for gifted and talented school children at Bynum Elementary School. The program will teach the pupils how to use a 3D scanner.

The Montana Dinosaur Center is working to digitizeit’s fossil collection, some of which were excavated almost 50 years ago. With the help of these grants, the Center has the opportunity to use a 3D scanner to upload 3D models, and to create a more accessible digitized fossil collection. 

The 3D scanner can be used with a tablet when traveling or for specimens in the field, and the scans can be easily shared and viewed on other interfaces. With uploaded 3D scans of the fossils, students and researchers will be able to access the Center’s collection digitally from anywhere. The digitized collection will also be accessible by the public.

Krygiel graduated from University of Colorado, Boulder with a bachelor’s degree in 2022 and has spent the summer excavating fossils with the Montana Dinosaur Center. 

The Association of Registrars and Collections Specialists (ARCS), focuses on awarding these grants to individuals in minority groups. “As an LGBTQ+ woman in science, I am honored to receive this opportunity,” Krygiel said. 

The Montana Dinosaur Center is a Montana 501(c)3 nonprofit located in Bynum, Montana. They offer public fossil dig expedition which can be booked on their website, https://tmdinosaurcenter.org, or by calling 406-469-2211, or you can visit their museum gallery featuring the first baby dinosaur fossils discovered and world record largest dinosaur skeleton, gift shop, and specimen prep lab in Bynum at 120 2nd Ave S. 

Find all our social media at https://tmdinosaurcenter.org/links

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