Dinosaurs and paleontology are ingrained into the history and culture of the Castle Country Area. A cornerstone of this dinosaur love is the Utah State University Eastern Prehistoric Museum, which not only provides visitors a glimpse into the past but also works to further scientific research through resources like the Paleontology prep lab. The museum is looking to renovate this lab to benefit scientists and patrons alike through an AggieFunded campaign.
To discuss the campaign and the wider implications of this renovation, Doctor Josh Lively stopped by the KOAL newsroom to speak more on the fundraiser and potential renovation.
“This funding campaign is through a program called Aggie Funded. Because we’re under the Utah State University umbrella, this is the approved crowdfunding campaign platform for USU. So think about things like Kickstarter or GoFundMe,” explained Lively of the fundraiser. “And what we’ve decided to do with our first AggieFunded project here is to help us renovate our Fossil Preparation Lab. So this is where we prep fossils that are coming in from out of the field that are still covered in rock and mud and get them ready for research and exhibit.”
The USU Eastern Prehistoric Museum is one of six museums by the American Alliance of Museums in Utah – and the only one located in rural Utah – and as such is one of the premier locations for fossil research in the state,” when we go out into the field, we don’t remove all of the rock off the bones while we’re out in the desert, while we’re in the elements. We bring fossils back to the lab in these big field jackets with a lot of rock still around them. And then we remove the rest of the rock in a controlled environment. Now, we want to extract the fossils from the rock because that allows us to display them in our exhibit halls, but then also research those fossils as well. So the lab is basically where all of that goes down.”
This prep lab also provides a look into the scientific process through a clear window that the general public can peer into to get a closer glimpse at the fossil preparation process.
Lively then dove into what these renovations might look like,” So, a number of the things that we’re going to be trying to do with this campaign is, one, get actual load-bearing tables and lifts for our fossils. Sometimes we’re working on fossils well over a thousand pounds in the lab,” he explained. “The other thing is to get an updated dust extraction system. So, when we’re preparing rock off a fossil bone, it generates a lot of silica dust, which, if it gets in your lungs, is bad news. So, we’ve got some small mobile dust extractors, but we want to get a more centralized system. We want to add a few things like a fume hood, which will allow us to do acid preparation, which, especially out of some of the nodules around here, is something that we need to be able to do. So overall, it’s increasing the functionality as well as increasing safety for folks that are working in the lab.”
These changes would also positively impact the museum as a whole, with Lively explaining,” It will allow us to be much more efficient as far as getting things through the lab. When we’re able to work on things more quickly, we can get them into collections, get them into exhibits and research them more quickly and more efficiently. We have a number of students, both locally here at USU Eastern, as well as up in Logan, that are working on fossils that have been prepared out of this lab. So, it benefits students, benefits our other staff members. In some ways, it’ll enhance the visitor experience as well. And we’ve been told by several visitors that being able to see that science in action is one of their favorite parts of the museum.”
In closing, Lively stated,” Just one more thing beyond this campaign. I do want to highlight our volunteer program. Not everyone can donate, obviously, but if you can’t donate monetarily, but you can donate time, we do take volunteers. We involve folks that have no training in paleontology whatsoever in everything from excavating dinosaurs to working in our lab and collections and, in some cases, even being a part of the research process.”
To donate to this renovation fund, you can visit the museum’s AggieFunded page here. To stay up to date with the USUE Prehistoric Museum, you can find it on Facebook.