Dinosaurs, sculptures, field jackets, museums and PhD's....

This has been one of those weeks that simply evaporated. I touched down in Newark last Saturday and it is suddenly Friday....there seems to have been a rip in the space-time continuum that has seemingly navigated me through several museums collections, an animal menagerie and a PhD committee meeting at the University of Pennsylvania. I am once again back at the American Museum of Natural History (New York) sat in the prep lab, being serenaded by the gentle hum of pneumatic pens as millions of years of sediment is gently teased from stunning dinosaur bones...all the way from Mongolia. At the far end of the prep lab sits a vast field jacket....fruits of our Summer labours in Montana. It was delivered last week (see image below) and the collections curator (Carl Mehling) was called by the delivery bay folks and told, "Your sculpture has arrived".... The 2575 pound field jacket is the largest to enter the AMNH in a few years...its secrets will soon be unlocked by the splendidly skilled preparators who work within these hallowed halls. My time in New York is nearly done, until the next visit, off to the airport again....

Prehistoric 'sculpture' arriving arrives at the AMNH!

A Giant among Mammoths...

My team and I have been lucky enough to visit the Mammoth Site in Hot Springs, South Dakota these past few field seasons. This is a one of the natural wonders of the prehistoric world. The site provides a remarkable glimpse into South Dakota's past, some 26,000 years ago. A vast sink hole became the untimely grave for many Ice Age beasties that took too close a look into the steaming waters of the hot springs feeding the sink hole.

The site has been excavated since 1974, and it was Dr. Larry Agenbroad and his remarkable team who undoubtedly put this paleontological gem firmly on the map. Larry always greeted my team and I with a big smile that was only matched by his splendid hospitality. Each year he would ask us "How is the lizard-digging coming along", as he knew my team and I were excavating dinosaurs in the north of the State. So, it is with a heavy heart that I relay some very sad news. I have just learnt that Larry died on October 31st of this year. He will be missed by all who knew him, but also by future generations who did not get the opportunity to meet this remarkable scientist, splendid human being and kind friend. His volunteer scheme at the Mammoth site has spawned many career scientists, generating a legacy that has touched the lives of countless people. Larry was a wonderful man with a heart as big as the mammoths that he choose to study.

Dr. Larry Agenbroad (1933-2014)