Paleo Field Program

[Maury Irvine <mmirvine@gomontana.com>]

The Museum of the Rockies offers a great Paleo Field Program during the
summers. I have attended five times. The following is some information
concerning the program.

        Museum of the Rockies
 The Museum of the Rockies Paleontology Field Program offers you the
unique opportunity to work with professional paleontologists and staff
members on famous and active dinosaur research sites.
 The Willow Creek Anticline, on the eastern slope of  the Rocky
Mountains near Choteau, Montana, just 90 miles south of Glacier National
Park, is the site for the Paleontology Field Program. In 1978 Dr. Jack
Horner, the Museum's Curator of Paleontology  discovered the remains of
dinosaur nesting colonies in this area. Fossil finds included dinosaur
eggs, embryos, nests of several species, and a massive  bone-bed of
Maiasaura peeblesorum fossils which have revealed very significant
information about dinosaur behavior and physiology. Dr.Horner's
experiences in the area are recounted in his best-selling book, Digging
Dinosaurs. These sites are now owned and protected by The Nature
Conservancy.

The Paleontology Field Program first opened to the public in 1988 and is
offered through a cooperative arrangement with The Nature Conservancy
You don't have to be a scientist to enroll. Three different sessions are
offered to match your background, interests, objectives, and time:

                    A Brief Experience in Paleontology
  If you want to learn about field paleontology but don't have much
time, these one-day sessions are for you. They are well suited to
families whose children are ages 10 and older. The day includes
instruction in fossil identification, several hours of badlands
exploration for fossils, a tour of the paleontological sites, and lunch.

 Introductory Field Paleontology
 This week-long session will give you a wide range of experience in
several types of field paleontology including small tool and hard rock
excavation, prospecting for dinosaur and other fossils in the badlands,
and gathering geologic data. While in camp you'll participate in
lectures, slide shows, discussions and evening programs. You'll start
and end the week at the Museum of the Rockies, and see the dinosaur
exhibit "One Day 80 Million Years Ago" which is based on research at the
Egg Mountain and Maiasaura bonebed sites. You will also be invited to
tour The Nature Conservancy's grizzly bear habitat at the nearby Pine
Butte Swamp Preserve. Participants in this session must be at least 15
years old.

Advanced Vertebrate Paleontology
If previous field work has left you wanting to know more or you would
like an extended experience, sign up for a two-week session. The
activities will be
similar to those for  Introductory Field Paleontology but you'll have
the time to participate
in projects of much greater detail and to learn in more depth. The
emphasis wil be on field techniques and you may work at sites other than
those in the Willow Creek Anticline. Participants must be at least 15
years old.

              The Paleontology Field Program is held for only a short
time each summer and class sizes are limited. For more information visit
the Museum of the Rockies web site at
http://www.montana.edu/wwwmor/fieldschool.html   or email RoxeAnn Harmon
at rharmon@montana.edu. or  phone or write to

    Museum of the Rockies
                Montana State University
                Bozeman, MT 59717-027
                (406) 994-6618