Paleontology Department

Cretaceous Period Research

The demise of the dinosaurs, along with the changes in local paleoenvironments, are just a couple of areas in which the Paleontology Department has been researching over the past decade. This research is conducted in the intermittent barren landscapes along the Little Missouri Badland drainages in southwest North Dakota.

These badlands represent the last geographical time from the Cretaceous Period, which was home to the dinosaurs, giant marine reptiles, and extinct exotic plants. Research teams associated with the museum have been working in these ancient environments collecting fossil vertebrates, invertebrates and plants to try to reconstruct what was present here 65 million years ago. As a result of these studies, clues are emerging as to how the plants and animals were interacting, how abundant they were and what the area was like when the meteor impact occurred on the Yucatan Peninsula at Chicxulub wiping out the dinosaurs.

The fossil remains of these plants and animals are brought back to our museum where they are curated and studied. Some of these specimens are on display in the museum depicting the results of our findings. Research results have been published by museum staff with other collaborators in leading scientific journals.

Preserving a fossil find in plaster

The museum also studies, collects and curates fossils from all of the different aged outcrops present in the region. These include vertebrates, invertebrates and plants from 73 million year old marine deposits up to the youngest deposits of the area, which are 28 million years old. Some of the animals that have been found are mosasaurs, plesiosaurs, dinosaurs, and early mammals that include camels, rhinoceroses, horses and giant pigs.

Class room instruction in the Frontier Room at PTRM	Paleontology Lab with young assistants learning the proper procedure for curation of fossils by volunteer staff	Preparing a dinosaur femur bone for the lab

Public Day Tours:

The Paleontology Department conducts Public Day Tours out to our active research sites in the field. These tours are open to the general public allowing interested individuals the ability to take part in our activities. This opportunity to join our paleontology crew gives one the sense of what it is like to be a paleontologist and how fossils are collected. These tours are given Tuesday through Saturday during the summer months of June, July and August.

Summer Field School:

The museum also offers a more intense summer field activity through our annual Summer Field School Program. This program allows the more hearty and serious individuals the opportunity to participate with our research crews for an entire week held a couple of times each summer. These field schools provide classroom instruction as well as hands-on field paleontological techniques. These Field Schools are also open to the general public.

Click to view or right click to download PDF Registration Form. Must have Adobe Acrobat Reader to view.

SD School of Mines Paleontology Club	2007 Girls Day out in the Badlands

Come and Dig a Dinosaur

A Triceratops dinosaur, plants, and other fossils have recently been discovered in the beautiful and rugged badlands near Rhame, North Dakota. The North Dakota Geological Survey and Pioneer Trails Museum, in cooperation with the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, will co-sponsor a scientific, professionally-conducted, fossil excavation at these sites in July, 2008. These activities are open to the public for participation. PDF Flyer

• Who: Open to anyone 12 years or older
• When: July 13 through July 19, 2008
• Where: near Rhame, North Dakota
• Cost: $600 for the week per person*

If you'd like more information feel free to email us.

Hunting Down T. Rex in the Badlands, LA Times, May 15, 2005

Other Paleontology Resources