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Last updated: December 2, 2002
The Maryland Geological Survey has placed the ASTRODON painting copy on display in the Survey's library.The Capital Children's Museum will be having a major dinosaur summer program including Dinostories, Dino Camp and a dinosaur exhibit. Dr. Kranz will be helping them with this project.
The Chesapeake Children's Museum opened its doors to the public on a dark and stormy night November 16, 2002. They got a nice write-up in the Baltimore Sun on November 17th. Part of their exhibit includes dinosaur activities donated by the Dinosaur Fund.
The "Beltsville News" will have a story on ASTRODON and Dinosaur Park in its December 2002 issue.
On November 28, 2002, Dr. Kranz found a single highly decomposed bone from a Mosasaur Paddle in a cliff fall of Severn Age, Upper Cretaceous. The bone was about 10 cm long. It was photographed because it was not in collectable condition. The find was made along the Potomac River in Fort Washington, Maryland.
Last updated: November 4, 2002
Maryland Science Center's groundbreaking took place and excavation is proceeding for the new Earth Science/Dinosaur Wing.The Traveling Dinosaur Exhibit will move to the Laurel, Maryland Town Hall on Sandy Spring Road.
A copy of the Maryland Science Center's Astrodon Herd painting done by Gregory S. Paul will be exhibited in the Maryland Geological Survey Lobby.
In October Cub Scout Pack 740 of Maryland helped salvage some fossil bearing clay exposed by construction at the Longwood Site. This clay is being screened by the students of Oakridge E. S. in Arlington, VA. With luck some fossils of value may be recovered.
The students of Oakridge E. S., Arlington County, VA are doing an after school dinosaur dig program with Dr. Kranz
As yet the Metro and Wilson Bridge projects have failed to produce the hoped for fossil bonanzas, however, two other sites are now being developed which may pan out. Work appears to have begun again on Harbor Place near the Woodrow Wilson Bridge and construction, perhaps houses, has started on Old Fort Road North near the Livingston Square in Fort Washington. The latter site is near the Classical Friendly locality mentioned in the Maryland Geological Survey's Upper Cretaceous volume. Both sites could produce Upper Cretaceous fossils.
Last updated: October 18, 2002
The Woodrow Wilson Bridge Construction continues to expose new material. Still no discoveries have been reported. We will remain hopeful.
Metro has stepped up its digging on the Blue Line Extension. This should result in new finds this fall.
There has been an initial ground breaking for the new wing of the Maryland Science Center which will house Maryland's permanent dinosaur exhibit.
The Traveling Dinosaur Exhibit will leave the Anne Arundel County Courthouse in early October. The exhibit is likely to move to a Washington or Virginia location next. If you wish to schedule it, contact the Dinosaur Fund @ (202) 547-3326 or dinosaurfund@juno.com.
Fountain Rock Nature Center continues its dinosaur dig program. The next session is October 12. Contact Fountain Rock Nature Center in Frederick County, Maryland.
A new children's museum will open in October, 2002 on Silopanna Road in Annapolis. The Dinosaur Fund is helping them install a dinosaur exhibit.
Last Updated: September 3, 2002
A mystery fossil from a drill core in Annapolis is a tooth fragment. It was thought to be an Astrodon tooth but to date the fragment remains unidentified. Tom Lipka who examined it says he was uncertain about whether it was even from a dinosaur. Moreover, it came from a marine sediment of Late Cretaceous or Early Tertiary thus making Astrodon a very unlikely candidate as it is known from the older Early Cretaceous sedimentsAlthough the Wilson Bridge Project is moving slowly, a good amount of Late Cretaceous sediments are now exposed.
The traveling dinosaur exhibit while currently still at the Anne Arundel County Courthouse, will soon leave for a new location. If you are interested in hosting it, please contact the Dinosaur Fund at (202) 547-3326 or dinosaurfund@juno.com.
Two new programs will soon be added to the Dinosaur Fund Programs. "Build-a-Dinosaur" will allow children to put together a large scale model of a dinosaur skeleton with Dr. Kranz's supervision. "Dinosaur Hunt" will allow individuals and families to sign up independently for fossil field trips.
Last Updated: August 12, 2002
The Woodrow Wilson excavations have finally started cutting into previously undisturbed deposits from Upper Cretaceous times, but as yet no fossil discoveries have been reported.Dinosaur Camp continues. Call (202) 547-3326 for information.
Although the new postal address is not yet certain, the Dinosaur Fund will have one soon. All other contact information should remain the same.
Last Updated: July 1, 2002
Dr. Kranz was asked to evaluate some recently exposed strata at the Woodrow Wilson Bridge site. Nothing of importance was discovered.Dinosaur Camp will have session the weeks of July 8, July 15, and August 19 for certain. With other weeks possible, if you wish to sign up call (202) 547-3326.
The fossil Cycad sites uncovered in the records of Goucher College last month are being plotted in order that they may be visited in hopes of making new discoveries. The Paleobiology Department at the Smithsonian Institution was given copies for their records. They were also urged to consider obtaining the originals from Goucher as it is the only true copy and many of the maps are in color.
Last Updated: June 11, 2002
Glebe Elementary School in Arlington has put the crocodile tooth discovered in their Dinosaur Dig on display for the students and parents at the school. It will be offered to the Smithsonian when the display comes down.The Wilson Bridge and Blue Line Extension have so far failed to yield much, but should do so during the summer. Other likely Upper Cretaceous sites which should produce this summer are Landover Mall and the US Air Arena.
Dinosaur Camp Session begins in mid-June and will continue throughout the summer. Sessions are one week long day camps. See Dinosaur Fund web site - www.dinosaurfund.org or call (202)547-3326.
Tom Lipka's work was given a full page profile in the May 8-15 issue of the Baltimore "City Paper". Good job, Tom!
Metro extension is making slow progress and has uncovered nothing of interest to date.
The traveling dinosaur exhibit will probably stay in Annapolis for a while. The likely location is the Anne Arundel County Courthouse on Church Circle. Open during normal working hours. Contact: dinosaurfund@juno.com to schedule the exhibit for your location.
Hayfield Jr/Sr High School in Alexandria, Virginia is planning to start a dinosaur activity program.
Dinosaur Camp was a great success as usual.
Summer sessions of Dinosaur Camp are slated for the week of June 24, August 19 and 26. Others weeks in June, July and August may be scheduled later. Any person or group wishing to request a specific week other than those listed should contact dinosaurfund@juno.com with the specific dates requested. For more information go to the Dinosaur Fund web site at: www.dinosaurfund.org
Metro continues to work on the extension of the Blue Line. As yet, there has been very limited cut and cover work but this should pick up soon.
Colton Wooldridge's project on gastroliths was well received. There was some suggestion that there might be some selectivity exhibited by the dinosaurs, presumably Astrodon, in choosing quartz pebbles over other types of material. Colton will continue his study next year.
The traveling dinosaur exhibit will be at the Tawes Bldg. for the month of April 2002 and may move to the Anne Arundel County Court House and/or The Children's Museum also in Annapolis after leaving the DNR Venue (Rowe Blvd. and Taylor St.).
Dr. Kranz will give a talk titled "Trailing the Dinosaurs Through Maryland" at noon on April 4, 2002, in conjunction with the exhibit. (See "NEW ITEMS" for more details).
Dinosaur digs are set for June 20 10AM-11:30AM, June 20, 1PM-2:30PM and June 27 1PM-2:30PM. There is a fee of $5 per child.
HB2343 of Pennsylvania Legislature is currently in the State Government Committee. When passed it will make Atreipus Pennsylvania's State Dinosaur.
On a recent trip to the Hadrosaurus foulkii historic site in New Jersey, Dr. Peter Kranz unearthed some surprising dinosaur trivia. Many of us who have thought about it, have always taken for fact that Hadrosaurus foukii was the first dinosaur to be recognized in North America. As it happens this is apparently not so. (We shall for the moment exclude the two cases of the 1787 bone found at Woodbury, N.J. and examined by Benjamin Franklin and the 1856 mention of Deinodon teeth found by Hayden in Montana.)
While it is true that the bones of Hadrosaurus were found in 1838 they were not collected until the summer and fall of 1858. This would still give them priority over Astrodon which was not discovered until mid to late November, 1858. However, as it happens, Joseph Leidy did not formally report the Hadrosaurus to the Philadelphia Academy of Natural Science until the meeting on December 14, 1858 and the Proceedings were not published until March 31, 1859.
On the other hand, Astrodon's discovery was reported on December 6, 1858 and a name proposed on December 13, 1858 at the following meeting. More over, Philip Thomas Tyson had printed in the National Intelligencer of January 8, 1859 a full account of the discovery of Astrodon including the fact that many more skeletal elements had been present but were discarded and lost by the miners.
Thus, one is forced to conclude that the report to a scientific body, the naming and the printed account of the discovery of Astrodon all preceded the similar accounts for Hadrosaurus Foulkii.
The demolition of the Capital Center in Largo, Maryland is scheduled for June 1, 2002 and will take about a month. After that the site is slated to become some type of shopping center. Historically the site is reported to have produced vast numbers of Upper Cretaceous fossil especially ammonites. If the current plan is followed it is likely that many good new specimens will be recovered.
Dr. Peter Kranz will give a public lecture at the Maryland Department of Natural Resources Tawes Building (Rowe Blvd. and Taylor St.) Annapolis, Maryland first floor at Noon April 4, 2002. The title of the lecture is "Trailing the Dinosaurs through Maryland".
Dr Peter Kranz will give a talk to the Mineral Society of Washington on April 19, 2002 at 8:00PM at Chevy Chase Community Center, 5601 Conn. Ave. NW. The title of the talk is "Dinosaurs and Iron Ores".
There is a likely improvement in the building industry and with the return of warmer temperatures excavations will become more numerous. Be vigilant! Please report potential and actual fossil sites to DinosaurFund@juno.com.
In particular there appears to be a lot of activity in locations where Upper Cretaceous beds are likely to be exposed. Those areas include the extension of Addison Road Blue Line Metro, Capital Center and Rt 50 and Rt 450 corridor in Prince George's County.
Dr. Kranz will lead a fossil trip on April 13. Meet at 10AM at Fountain Rock Nature Center in Walkersville, Maryland, telephone Number (301) 898-1460. We will be collecting at Paleozoic sites in Virginia.
The Dinosaur exhibit will probably move to Tawes (DNR) Building in Annapolis for the months of March and April.
There are still places left for Spring Break Dinosaur Camp. Two sessions of one week each, the last week of March and the first week of April.
Capitalsaurus Day pictures are now available (Click to enlarge).
Dig programs are expected to resume in the Spring, possibly with some minimal charge for participation.
Capitalsaurus Day 2002 was a great success. A fossil dinosaur bone was presented to Barbara Franco and Mayor Anthony A. Williams by Mecrope Moonstone of Ms. Henderson's Montessori Class from Watkins Elementary School. Everyone sang the Capitalsaurus Song. There were special sessions with the Mayor and the Council Chairperson later in the day. Pictures can be seen on the Dinosaur Fund web site www.dinosaurfund.org
Dinosaur Camp will have two sessions at Spring Break 2002. The last week of March and the first week of April. Call (202) 547-3326 for details.
Dig program will resume in Spring 2002.
The Dinosaur Playground is delayed but still in the plans.
Metro continue its construction of the Addison Road Extension. As yet, no major fossil discoveries have been reported.
On Capitalsaurus Day 2002, DC school children will present a dinosaur bone specimen to he Mayor and City Council for display in the new City Museum.
Fountain Rock Nature Center will sponsor a fossil field trip lead by Dr. Kranz on Saturday, April 13, 2002. Contact: (202) 547-3326 for details.
In early December 2001, Dr. Kranz met with representatives of the Woodrow Wilson Bridge Project to advise them of the fact that their excavations were likely to uncover dinosaur bones and other fossils. They were receptive and promised to stay alert.
By 2003, DC is expected to have a City Museum. The Dinosaur Fund is working to make sure the City's fossil heritage is included.
The Dinosaur Fund is going to make a child's dream come true. In December 2001, Dyrel was featured on Channel 4's Wednesday's Child. He said his dream was to dig for dinosaurs. The Dinosaur Fund is going to make that possible.
The 2002 Session of the Maryland State Assembly will commence in January, 2002. The Dinosaur Fund will push for the acquisition and preservation of dinosaur lands in the State.