What's New

• Prehistoric Poster Contest 2008 Winners
• Speaker Series 2008
• Innovations
• Eotriceratops - New Discovery
• Tracks & Traces
• Expedition Mongolia

Prehistoric Poster Contest 2008 Winners

Congratulations to Grade 8 student Jean Huang, of Regina. Jean is the winner of Best Overall Poster for the Royal Tyrrell Museum's 2008 Prehistoric Poster Contest.

This years contest challenged young minds with a number of exciting categories. Each category received numerous works of art worthy of display making judging this years contest a real challenge. Some participants have been entering the Prehistoric Poster Contest for several years now and it seems that they just get better and better as time goes on!

The Prehistoric Poster Contest is a fun way for children to learn about ancient life on earth. It is the Museum's hope that this will in turn create a life long passion for science and natural history.

Click here to view the winning posters from this years contest!!!

The Royal Tyrrell Museum would like to acknowledge the following sponsors:

Speaker Series 2008

Speaker Series takes place from 11:00am-12:00pm in the Museum Auditorium.

Innovations

Research Scientist Donald Henderson (right) and Field Technician Darren Tanke (left) of the Royal Tyrrell Museum got a little help from Alberta's harsh winter climate this past January when they removed the skull of a Corythosaurus (crested duck-billed dinosaur) from Dinosaur Provincial Park.

Originally excavated near the shore of the Red Deer River in the summer of 2007, the field crew faced the challenge of hauling the 148 lbs. field jacket (a combination of plaster and burlap used to protect the specimen) up a 60-degree slope of rugged badlands. As there are no vehicles allowed in the park, Henderson and Tanke decided to wait until winter so they could pull the specimen across the frozen river with a sled.

"This type of specimen removal has never been tried before and was so successful, I am thinking of doing it again next time a specimen is close to the river and awkward to get out" commented Tanke.

Eotriceratops - New Discovery

Royal Tyrrell scientists help discover a new horned dinosaur in Alberta

Drumheller. Scientists at the Royal Tyrrell Museum and the Canadian Museum of Nature recently discovered a new genus of horned dinosaur (ceratopsian) that lived in southern Alberta 68 million years ago.

Found in the Horseshoe Canyon Formation in Dry Island Buffalo Jump Provincial Park in central Alberta, the newly-named Eotriceratops xerinsularis (EE-OH-TRY-SAIR-AH-TOPS ZEER-IN-SOO-LAIR-ISS), is the earliest known member of, and possible ancestor to, the well-known Triceratops group. With its large orbital horns and a solid frill, this is also the largest and distinct type of horned dinosaur known in Alberta. It is also the first identifiable dinosaur from this specific area.

"Until we found Eotriceratops, there was a significant gap in our knowledge about the dinosaurs that lived in Alberta and North America from 69 to 67 million years ago," said Don Brinkman, Head Curator at the Royal Tyrrell Museum. "The discovery of Eotriceratops is an important step in helping us understand the history of latest Cretaceous dinosaur evolution on this continent."

Eotriceratops xerinsularis is currently on display in the Royal Tyrrell Museum's new gallery Ceratopsians: the Horned Herbivores. The name Eotriceratops implies that it is an early member of the Triceratops group-the species name, xerinsularis, refers to Dry Island Buffalo Jump Provincial Park, where it was collected.

Tracks & Traces

Find out what's happening behind the scenes, what's new in the galleries, and what special events and programs are coming up at the Royal Tyrrell Museum. It's all in the museum's bi-annual publication Tracks & Traces, along with a full page of kids' activities. Tracks & Traces is a full-colour publication and subscriptions are free! Click here to subscribe and receive future issues of Tracks & Traces.

Download This Issue (PDF)

Royal Tyrrell Museum scientists explore dinosaurs in Mongolia's Gobi Desert

Albertans encouraged to track scientists' research online

To Discover More About This Expedition [Click Here](Updated Sept.20.2007)

Drumheller... Two Royal Tyrrell Museum scientists are part of a group of 20 world experts exploring dinosaur trails throughout the Gobi Desert in southern Mongolia starting August 20.

Part of the 2007 International Dinosaur Project, Dr. Dave Eberth and Dr. Francois Therrien are joining other leading scientists in a project to visit and explore known fossil locations in the Gobi Desert and collect new specimens for museums in Korea and Mongolia.

The five-week expedition will allow the Alberta-based scientists to compare dinosaur environments and fossil preservation across the southern Gobi Desert to dinosaur sites in western Canada. A key area of research will be to understand how such different environments could yield unusually large numbers of well-preserved dinosaur skeletons, eggs, and bones.

During the expedition, the Alberta scientists will submit regular updates and images on the progress of their research to the Royal Tyrrell Museum's website at www.tyrrellmuseum.com in an area entitled Expedition Mongolia. The website will go live August 20. Members of the public are encouraged to submit questions to the team about the project until September 16.

In addition to the Royal Tyrrell Museum scientists, Dr. Darla Zelenitsky from the University of Calgary will be part of the project team. Zelenitsky, an expert on dinosaur eggs and nests, will work closely with Therrien in studying the origins and preservation of egg and nesting sites, then comparing them to those at Devil's Coulee in southern Alberta.

Operated by Alberta Tourism, Parks, Recreation and Culture, the Royal Tyrrell Museum is located six kilometers northwest of Drumheller in the heart of the Canadian Badlands and is the only Canadian institution devoted exclusively to the science of palaeontology. For more information, visit www.tyrrellmuseum.com or call toll-free in Alberta 310-0000 then (403) 823-7707.