Museum Gives Behind-the-Scenes Look at Cleaning a 65-Million-Year-Old Dinosaur Fossil

The Burke Museum in Seattle is offering a fascinating insight into the meticulous process of fossil preservation, with a focus on a hadrosaur skull that has captured the attention of both enthusiasts and the general public. Recently, the museum showcased this ongoing work through a video on TikTok, allowing viewers to witness the careful cleaning and detailing of the hadrosaur’s fossilised bones.

In the video shared by the museum, staff members can be seen gently brushing the skull of the hadrosaur, a type of duck-billed dinosaur known for its plant-eating habits. To make the experience more engaging, the team even placed googly eyes on the skull to indicate where the dinosaur’s eyes would have been. This playful touch highlights the museum’s effort to connect with its audience while educating them about paleontology.

The hadrosaur, nicknamed “cold hearted,” is identified as an *Edmontosaurus annectens* and is estimated to have been around 20 feet long from nose to tail. The discovery occurred in Montana, where researchers also uncovered rare, well-preserved plant remains from a prehistoric swampy environment. This fossil find presents a remarkable opportunity to understand the ecological context in which these dinosaurs lived.

One of the museum’s fossil preparation managers, Kelsie Abrams, offered additional context about the discovery in a follow-up video. She explained that many of the plants found with the hadrosaur are unusually well preserved, a rarity given the coarse sand often found in such environments. The significance of this is considerable, as these plant remains provide crucial insights into the climate and geographical conditions during the time the hadrosaur roamed the Earth.

According to Abrams, the fossil remains were buried in a sandy stream bed post-mortem, leading to their exceptional preservation. The detailed analysis of the plant material unearthed alongside the dinosaur helps researchers reconstruct the area’s prehistoric landscape, which they believe resembled a warm and humid swamp similar to today’s Mississippi River delta. Various species, including conifer trees, broad-leafed angiosperms such as sycamores and willows, as well as palm trees and ginkgos, have been identified from the remains.

The museum encourages the public to engage with the fossil preparation process further by inviting them to observe the work being done in the fossil lab located on the third floor. This initiative allows visitors to gain a firsthand look at how fossils are extracted, cleaned, and prepared for display, turning the preservation process into an interactive experience.

Throughout her eight years at the Burke Museum, Abrams has led numerous dinosaur digs and worked on preparing hundreds of fossils. During her discussions, she emphasised the delicate nature of these specimens, illustrating the challenges faced by paleontologists in the field. She candidly admitted, “Have you ever broken a fossil?” to which her answer was a straightforward “yes.”

Her insight underscores the fragility of fossils, as even slight movements can lead to breaks. Moreover, sometimes it is necessary to intentionally break a fossil to separate jumbled bones and properly reconstruct the skeleton. Despite the potential for damage, Abrams assured that there are methods in place to repair and document any mishaps that occur during the preparation process.

To effectively manage the integrity of the fossils, the museum employs adhesive to reassemble broken pieces and utilises extensive documentation methods, including photographs, to record the condition of fossils before and after any work is done. “It’s okay to break things, as long as you fix them,” she stated, highlighting the balance between careful handling and the sometimes unpredictable nature of fossil preparation.

Overall, the Burke Museum’s current exhibition on the hadrosaur and its preservation process provides a compelling window into the world of paleontology and fossil handling. By engaging with the public through social media and offering physical access to the conservation area, the museum not only educates but also fosters a community of dinosaur enthusiasts and budding paleontologists eager to learn more about these magnificent creatures from the distant past.