Dinosaurs and MOR!

April 1, 2022 | Dinosaurs and MOR! Member Appreciation Evening

Enjoy a family-friendly members-only sneak preview of our new paleontology event, Dinosaurs and MOR! Experience paleo-passport and history activity stations throughout the museum. View Dinosaur Prophesy in the Taylor Planetarium at 5:30 and 6:30 p.m. Listen to a special address to the members by MOR's Executive Director Christopher Dobb and our John R. Horner Curator of Paleontology John Scannella, Ph.D., at 6:15 and 7:15 p.m. Support MOR by shopping in the Museum Store. Enjoy a specialty cookie and lemonade.

About Dinosaur Prophesy: Solve four cold cases from the Age of Dinosaurs! Long before dinosaurs' massive extinction 66 million years ago, many individual species disappeared. Visit dinosaur graveyards, study their bones, and reconstruct how these creatures lived and died to solve four famous cold cases from the age of the dinosaurs. Suitable for general audiences, grades 2-8.

Members-only Bonus! Many of Saturday's world-class paleontology guest speakers will be present to meet.

5 – 7:30 p.m. | All ages
Included with membership
RSVP is not required

2022 Dinosaurs and MOR!  All Access Lecture Schedule and Speaker Line-up

Upon arrival, registered attendees will be given a wristband and must show it for admittance into the Hager Auditorium. All over the age of two (2) must wear a face mask inside the Hagar Auditorium while attending the lectures.

9 – 9:30 a.m | Doors Open/Check-in/Will Call

9:20 – 9:30 a.m.
Opening remarks by MOR's John R. Horner Curator of Paleontology John Scannella, Ph.D., and Interim Director of Exhibits Scott Williams

9:30 – 10 a.m.
Under the Sea 320 Million Years Ago: Montana's Bear Gulch Limestone
Collections Manager Kallie Moore of University of Montana Paleontology Center

The fossils found in the Bear Gulch Limestone are phenomenally well preserved. From coelacanths and sharks to worms and shrimp, plus a mysterious animal that is still unidentified - the Bear Gulch fauna provides an almost perfect snapshot of life in Montana roughly 320 million years ago.

10 – 10:30 a.m.
Giants Under the Big Sky: The History of Montana's Largest Dinosaurs
Director of Paleontology Cary Woodruff, Ph.D., of Great Plains Dinosaur Museum

While Tyrannosaurus and Triceratops may certainly be Montana's most famous dinosaurs, they are dwarfed by the giants that stomped around the prehistoric Treasure State. Though sauropods are probably not the first dinosaurs to come to mind when people are thinking about Montana paleontology, the state in fact has an incredibly rich sauropod record. From some of the northernmost, to MT's oldest dinos, some of the largest and smallest specimens, new species, as well as understanding dino diseases - come learn about the awesome sauropod record from Montana.

10:30 – 11 a.m. | Break

11 – 11:30 a.m.
Egg Mountain: Life at the Feet of Dinosaurs
Professor of Earth Sciences Dave Varricchio, Ph.D., of Montana State University

Discovered in 1979, Egg Mountain produced the first dinosaur eggs and egg clutches from North America. Recent excavations show this site to not only record dinosaur nesting but a diverse array of invertebrate and vertebrate activity. Soil arthropods, insects, lizards, mammals, and dinosaurs all interacted here within this exceptional window into terrestrial Cretaceous life.

11:30 a.m. – 12 p.m.
Maiasaura and MOR: Reconstructing the Life of Montana’s State Fossil
Associate Professor of Anatomy and Paleontology Holly Woodward, Ph.D., of Oklahoma State University Center for Health Sciences

After forty years of excavations, Museum of the Rockies houses the largest collection of Maiasaura duckbilled-dinosaur fossilized eggs, nestlings, and skeletons. Ongoing research since its initial discovery makes the life history of Maiasaura the most well-understood of any dinosaur to date, but there is still much MOR to learn about Montana’s state fossil.

12 – 1:30 p.m. | Lunch on Own

1:30 – 2 p.m.
Love Hurts: Mating Injuries in Duckbilled Dinosaurs
Assistant Professor of Biological and Earth Sciences Liz Freedman Fowler, Ph.D., at Dickinson State University and Research Associate at Badlands Dinosaur Museum, Dickinson Museum Center

Injuries in dinosaurs were common, and their bones often show evidence of healing. These pathologies are direct evidence of dinosaur behaviors. Hadrosaurs (duckbilled dinosaurs) injured their tails a lot - why? Come learn about the dangers of life in the Cretaceous.

2 – 2:30 p.m.
A Surprising Herbivorous Dinosaur Diet: Coprolite Clues to a Cretaceous Cuisine
Professor and Curator of Paleontology Karen Chin, Ph.D., of University of Colorado Boulder

Studies of coprolites (fossil feces) reveal that some plant-eating dinosaurs periodically ate small animals. They were omnivorous! This talk will describe the fossil evidence for this unexpected discovery.

2:30 – 3 p.m.
A Dinosaur Pregnancy Test
Professor of Biological Sciences Mary Schweitzer, Ph.D., of North Carolina State University

We know that dinosaurs reproduced but exactly how remains a mystery. However, by using what we know about the living relatives most closely related to dinosaurs, we can determine when these ancient animals were reproducing, and how the chemistry of reproduction is similar to that of their descendants and very different from mammals today!

3 – 3:30 p.m. | Break

3:30 – 4 p.m.
Amber: Illuminating the Unseen of the Hell Creek
Curator of Paleontology Nathan Carroll, Ph.D., of Carter County Museum

The Hell Creek Formation of Montana was once host to loud, murky swamps full of insects, vegetation, and birds. Learn how tree resin from bygone-bayous could change the way we view dinosaurs and their world.

4 – 4:30 p.m.
How the K/Pg Mass Extinction Killed off Dinosaurs and Opened the Way for Mammals
Professor of Biology Gregory P. Wilson Mantilla, Ph.D., of University of Washington and Curator of Paleontology at the Burke Museum

The mass extinction event at the end of the Cretaceous was one of the most pivotal events in Earth history. It wiped out all dinosaurs but birds and sparked the diversification of modern mammals. I will share with you decades of fieldwork in northeastern Montana that have led to arguably the most complete picture of this evolutionary turning point.

4:30 – 5 p.m.
North American Bison: An American Success Story
Principal Paleontologist Eric Scott of Cogstone Resource Management, Inc. & Adjunct at California State University San Bernardino

Bison (more commonly known as buffalo) are iconic denizens of North America, with populations numbering in the thousands despite having been nearly extinguished by humans over a century ago. Yet fossils of these popular animals continue to yield new and exciting information about their evolution and their critical importance in North American ecosystems.