BLOGOSAUR - Page 5 of 7 - Philip J. Currie Dinosaur Museum

We are the seventh biggest Museum Opening of the year!

According to Condé Nast Travelerm well known traveling and lifestyle blog, the Philip J. Currie Dinosaur Museum (us!) ranks as the seventh largest museum opening of the year for 2015. We are now officially ranked amongst world-class heavyweights such as the Shanghai Museum of Natural History and the Singapore National Gallery. This reinforces the fact…

The Art of the Meal

I am excited to announce this week the publication of a scientific paper that I have been working on. The paper is quantitative in nature, so it does not contain any new fossils to report. However, it does report, I think, some important results relating to the extinction of dinosaurs and the survival of birds…

What Big Claws You Have: Northern Alberta Welcomes New Raptor Dinosaur

There is a new raptor dinosaur (dromaeosaur) in town. Boreonykus certekorum (meaning “Certek’s northern claw”) is the newest dinosaur named from the Peace Region. Recently described by former Philip J. Currie Dinosaur Museum palaeontologist Phil Bell and our namesake Philip Currie, this new species hails from the Pipestone Creek bonebed that features prominently in the…

Eggs-cellent News: Dinosaur Eggs and Babies Populate Museum

If there is one thing that I am really happy about in terms of how dinosaurs are portrayed in modern popular media, it’s that the public’s perception of dinosaurs as lumbering, uncaring beasts has largely given way to the idea that dinosaurs were intelligent, interesting animals with fascinating behaviours, behaviours that scientists are actively piecing…

A New Blogosaur and a New Face at the Museum

Hello. Welcome to the Blogosaur, the official blog of the Philip J. Currie Dinosaur Museum, northern Alberta’s newest palaeontological museum. Posting on the Blogosaur has slowed recently, but I have now taken up the mantle of posting material here, and I am going to try to maintain a more regular schedule.

And who am I, you may be asking. I am Derek Larson, the newly hired Assistant Curator at the museum. I am a vertebrate palaeontologist, and I specialize in studying the teeth and diets of small meat-eating dinosaurs and modern monitor lizards. I also have research interests in a number of different fossil groups. Some of my most popular scientific papers include one that distinguishes the number of small meat-eating dinosaur species in western North America based on their extensive record of isolated teeth and work identifying the species present in the Late Cretaceous cool-climate upper Horseshoe Canyon Formation of Alberta. It is very likely that I will go into significant detail on various aspects of my research at some point on this blog.

What else can you expect from this blog? I will certainly be covering major museum events like upcoming exhibits as well as palaeontological news in the Peace Region both when a scientific paper is published and when there is a new development in the field. I may also cover aspects of scientific name construction and the International Code for Zoological Nomenclature, in which I have an interest and which I think isn’t discussed today as much as it should be. I will also probably comment here when there is a palaeontology news story about which I have something to say. If you want to comment on any of the Blogosaur posts, or if you have questions or comments about what sort of information you would like to see in this space, feel free to head over to the museum Facebook page and leave a comment. I hope this blog attracts a following both from the public who are interested in the palaeontology in the Peace Region as well as scientifically-minded readers who want to hear my thoughts about various topics in palaeontology.

So, keep checking this space for more updates. I look forward to discussing a wide range of palaeontological topics here in the future.

The Amber Ball pictures are out!

Along with the photographs from the Cornerstone dedication, the VIP reception and the Harley Davidson bike ride, the professional pictures taken during the Amber Ball are now available for download. Follow these links to get them! Amber Ball: https://www.flickr.com/photos/137043459N08/sets/72157657609828203 Cornerstone: https://www.flickr.com/photos/137043459N08/sets/72157659522407520 Harley Bike Ride: https://www.flickr.com/photos/137043459N08/sets/72157659940726861 VIP Reception: https://www.flickr.com/photos/137043459N08/sets/72157657600960124

Jurrasic World Dinosaurs

I’m sure that most of you have seen Jurassic World by this point, or if you haven’t, you’re at least planning to. It’s a lot of fun and the dinosaurs are awesome but I personally believe that they dropped the ball a little in showing the same old pop culture dinosaurs. Yes, Triceratops, Velociraptor and…

Thanks GP Auto Group!

GP Auto Group presented the Philip J. Currie Dinosaur Museum with a cheque for $38,200 today at Grande Prairie Chrysler Jeep Dodge. The Auto Group held a special ‘Dino Days’ promotion during the month of July and donated the proceeds towards an overall commitment of $100,000 to sponsor the museum’s Bonebed exhibit. “The Grande Prairie…

Ask a Palaeo!

How long does it take to dig up a dinosaur bone? By Dr. Matthew Vavrek The length of time it takes to dig up a dinosaur depends on so many things, and can vary from a few days to decades. For smaller skeletons in soft sediments, the skeleton can often be taken out in just…

Thanks Saddle Hills County!

Saddle Hills County presented a cheque for $150,000 to the County of Grande Prairie No. 1 for the Philip J. Currie Dinosaur Museum on September 2, 2014, at the museum site. Saddle Hills is sponsoring the Palaeontology Research Centre (PRC) in the museum. The PRC will be the hub for year-round, ongoing research for the…