Southwestern’s Chadwick talks dinosaur bones, new museum

From Cleburne Times-Review: Southwestern’s Chadwick talks dinosaur bones, new museum
Members of the Cleburne Rotary Club studied dinosaur bones, shark teeth and other fossils during their Thursday luncheon at the Cleburne Conference Center and heard about a museum in the planning stages at Southwestern Adventist University.

Dr. Art Chadwick, professor of biology and geology, discussed Southwestern’s upcoming “Dinodig” in Wyoming, a summer course the school began in 1996.

This year’s Dinodig runs May 31 to June 29 and targets high school students who have completed their junior or senior year as of June, college students seeking lab science credit and teachers seeking professional development. In addition to those groups, the program is also open to anyone interested in dinosaurs.

The cost for four hours of college credit and site fees, which includes transportation from Southwestern, food, lodging and field fees, is $1,783. Other dig programs and cost options are available. For information, visit dinodig.swau.edu.

The site, near Newcastle, Wyo., contains a treasure trove of dinosaur bones and other fossils, Chadwick said, adding that participants excavated about 2,000 bones last year.

The dig affords participants opportunity for hands-on excavation of dinosaur and other carnivore bones and fossils and to attend casual setting lectures on paleontology, biology of dinosaurs, geology and taphonomy. Chadwick likened the last to “CSI” as it is basically the science of figuring out how the bones or fossils came to be the way they are by concentrating on what happened between the time the animal was alive and the discovery of its bone or fossil remains.

Chadwick also discussed computer data programs and GPS technology developed at Southwestern used to measure and position bone and fossil placement within the dig areas. Chadwick delved into irregularities within sedimentary formations throughout the area and other anomalies, such as the fact that while about 95 percent of the dinosaur bones found in the area come from duckbill dinosaurs, one site in the same area contained about 500 bones of numerous dinosaur breeds, but no duckbills.

Chadwick hypothesized that a single catastrophic event likely killed dinosaurs in the area and an encroaching sea subsequently deposited and buried their carcasses en masse deep beneath waters, which has long since receded. Being encased underground left bones relatively intact, Chadwick said, adding that had they been closer to the surface they would have disintegrated long ago.



Science Education Center

Most of the bones and fossils recovered from the Wyoming site over the years are stored in Southwestern’s Scales Hall. The hope for some time, Southwestern President Eric Anderson said, has been to create a display area for those and other artifacts. Those plans moved closer to reality recently thanks to an anonymous $250,000 gift to the university.

Southwestern alumna and Rotarian Julie Roberts, who has spearheaded fundraising and grant efforts on behalf of the city of Cleburne and other project efforts, has undertaken the effort to raise the remaining funding required.

“The next logical step is to exhibit [the artifacts] and show how the science works,” Roberts said. “The plan is for interactive displays, not just a dull, dead museum display.”

Exact plans and specifics remain in the planning at this point, Roberts said. Initial plans call for the museum area to occupy a renovated and perhaps expanded section of Scales Hall, she said.