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.
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