Busy Times at the CFDC

The Canadian Fossil Discovery Centre staff has been quite busy with tours, meetings and planning lately!

Dig Tour season is in full swing and our field techs are eager to get out into the field! A typical dig tour will begin with a VIP tour of our museum and collection room, and then it's out to the field! Guests will be taken to one of our private dig sites where they will hunt for fossils, clean up the fossil bed, and enjoy the sun in the beautiful Manitoba escarpment. There is also the chance to become the weekly Paleostar! Paleostar is a recognition of outstanding work done by visitors in the field. It typically is awarded when a customer finds an impressive fossil, such as a shark tooth, fish vertebra or maybe even some pieces of mosasaur! Paleostar can be awarded to a single person or even an entire family! If you're interested in booking a tour click this link for more information.

We've had some very important visitors at the CFDC this past week, starting off with the Manitoba Geological Survey's Jim Bamburak. Jim came out this week to do a presentation on the geological layers of the Pembina Valley. He then took the field staff on a field trip throughout the escarpment to get an up close and personal look at the different layers. It was a great opportunity to learn about the Pembina Valley, as well as broadening our geological understanding.

Dr. Kevin Campbell, a professor at the University of Manitoba and a contributor and member of the CFDC generously donated a tuft of real 43,000 year old woolly mammoth hair! This hair comes from a Siberian mammoth that was found this past year, and it had most of its skin and hair still intact! We are excited to add this new fossil to our display of mammoth tusk and blood by the end of summer.

Real mammoth hair!
We also had the privilege of having Ron Lemieux and Colin Ferguson join us for an afternoon of digging for fossils! Ron is the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Heritage, Sport and Consumer Protection for Manitoba, and Colin is the CEO for Travel Manitoba. They and their families got a chance to enter the field for a dig tour, as well as a VIP Tour. It was a good time had by all and we hope they visit again in the future.


Everyone checking out the dig site!
Lastly, CFDC staff have been preparing the museum for Bruce's Birthday! Bruce is turning the ripe old age of 80 000 040 years old, and to celebrate, we're throwing him a huge party. For regular admission prices, you and your family can enjoy a full day of activities and games right here at the museum! Free cake and other party refreshments will be served at noon, so be sure to stop in for that. We hope to see you here next Saturday, the 26th!

Paige Ready
Museum Assistant

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