Field Experience '95

Royal Tyrrell Museum Explorers Series

Mid season update!

Dinosaur Provincial Park

Field Experience '95 is the most rigorous of the Tyrrell Museum's Explorer programmes. If you have further questions please contact programme coordinators David Eberth or Becky Kowalchuk at the Royal Tyrrell Museum, Box 7500, Drumheller, Alberta T0J 0Y0: phone (403) 823-7707; fax (403) 823-7131. The programme will fill quickly, so we suggest that you book soon. We will contact you to confirm your acceptance. The cost is $600.00 (Canadian funds) per week with a deposit of $250.00 required upon acceptance.

What is Field Experience '95 ?

Field Experience '95 is a unique opportunity to participate in an integrated field research programme alongside staff from the Royal Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology. This year's project is a palaeo-ecological study of a 75 million year old dinosaur community preserved in the world-famous badlands of southern Alberta's Dinosaur Provincial Park. The programme offers much more than just an opportunity to excavate dinosaurs. You will be part of a team that prospects for and collects dinosaurs, turtles, crocodiles, birds, and other fossils; studies sedimentary geology and collects data to reconstruct ancient environments. Data collected during Field Experience '95 will be used in published scientific studies. Yes, the programme is rigorous and the work sometimes difficult, but it is also the closest you can get to palaeontology without being a palaeontologist! Best of all, there is no need for previous experience, we will train you!

Personnel

Members of the Field Experience '95 team are seasoned field workers with years of professional experience. The scientists have conducted field work all over the world, and have led numerous public and professional field trips. This year the scientific team is:

Dr. Philip J. Currie (Head of Dinosaur Research, Royal Tyrrell Museum)

Phil is a world leader in the study of meat-eating dinosaurs. Part of the original team that conceived and built the Royal Tyrrell Museum, Phil has since collected and studied dinosaurs from around the world and was one of the leaders of the China-Canada Dinosaur Project. This summer Phil will be prospecting for new dinosaur localities, collecting dinosaurs discovered in previous years, and examining the origins of Dinosaur Park's giant bone beds.

Dr. Donald Brinkman (Vertebrate Palaeontologist, Royal Tyrrell Museum)

Don is a specialist in the study of vertebrate microfossils -- the bits and pieces of fossil skeletons that remain after reworking and burial. His work has been instrumental in determining the composition and diversity of ancient dinosaur communities in North America and Asia, and how these communities changed through time. This summer Don will be prospecting for and sampling more microfossil localities to expand on this powerful technique for rebuilding the past.

Dr. David Eberth (Sedimentary Geologist, Royal Tyrrell Museum)

During the past 15 years Dave has worked in Alberta, New Mexico, and China where he has studied the ancient environments of dinosaur and other vertebrate communities. This year Dave will be in Dinosaur Park to study how the growth of the Rocky Mountains and changes in ancient sea-level may have affected the way that fossils were buried in Alberta 75 million years ago.

When Does the Programme Run?

Field Experience '95 runs from June 5 - September 3 with a one week break from July 31 - Aug 6. Weekly sessions and scientific staff schedules are as follows:

JUNE (P. Currie)        JULY (P. Currie           AUGUST (D. Eberth)
                            & D. Brinkman)

June 5-11               July 3-9                  Break

June 12-18              July 10-16                August 7-13

June 19-25              July 17-23                August 14-20

June 26 - July 2        July 24-30                August 21-27

                                                  August 28 - September 3

Participants are required to register for a minimum of one week, however, priority will be given to those who choose to stay for two or more weeks. A two week stay is recommended in order to experience fully the field work and other planned activities.

More About The Work

Because we are running a variety of scientific programmes in the Park this year there are a variety of jobs. All of the work involves a good amount of hiking and hauling.

Dinosaur Programme:

In past years, assistants have excavated dinosaurs and prospected for new finds. This year you can expect work in a bone bed where fossil bones are plentiful and can be uncovered using hammers, chisels, brooms and small dental tools. There will also be an opportunity to quarry a single, large dinosaur specimen using picks, shovels, jackhammers, plaster and burlap. Although work in a bone bed or quarry is easier on the feet than prospecting, it demands patience and attention to detail under a variety of weather conditions. In contrast, prospecting is more like a treasure hunt without a map. It demands stamina while hiking through the badlands, and the ability to stay focused on finding fossil bone as you hike. As part of your experience you will be given the opportunity to prepare small fossils as they are collected and learn how to catalogue specimens (rainy day activities).

Vertebrate Palaeontology Programme:

Participants who assist in this programme will be expected to excavate sediment at numerous sites where there are abundant small vertebrate-fossils. The sediment will then be bagged and hauled to be washed in the Red Deer River using screen boxes; fossils will be picked out of the resulting concentrate under a microscope. As in the dinosaur programme we will also prospect for new sites.

Sedimentary Geology Programme:

This year our team will be examining localities where fossil specimens have been previously found and collected. We will be trenching sections, mapping and documenting the types of sediments at the fossil localities. We will also be studying specific aspects of the geology in Dinosaur Provincial Park. This will entail hiking, note-taking, digging, and measuring and sampling sections of rock.

Site, Facilities, and Camp Life

Field Experience '95 will take place in Dinosaur Provincial Park, 40 kilometres northeast of Brooks and the Trans Canada Highway. Dinosaur Provincial Park is a UNESCO World Heritage Site known for its astounding abundance and variety of dinosaurs, and striking scenery. The Royal Tyrrell Museum maintains a year-round interpretive centre at the Park as well as a field camp of ATCO trailers with semi-private rooms, men's and women's bathrooms and hot showers, laundry room, and central kitchen and dining room. Cooked meals are provided, but participants are responsible for laundry and other personal needs.

Breakfasts and suppers are substantial and varied. In the morning you will be provided with "sandwich makings", fruit and boxed juices to pack yourself lunches. Upon arrival in camp please advise the cook of any food allergies or preferences.

To take advantage of cool mornings the field day begins at 6 a.m. There is a lunch break and most days work stops at 2:30 p.m. Work continues through weekends and holidays, however, if you wish to take a day off, please give our staff advance notice (24 hours) so that they can schedule field work projects accordingly. At 10 p.m. we ask that noise levels be reduced so that others may sleep.

Most evenings are free. There are occasional evening talks and slide shows presented by the scientific staff about their research and other palaeontological topics.

Because the badlands are hazardous when wet, we don't work outside on rainy days. Instead you may find yourself cataloguing or preparing fossils, or you might like to take the day off; Parks' staff show films, and offer nature talks and guided bus tours for the general public that you are welcome to attend on rainy days. Shopping, movies, etc. in Brooks are a diversion from time to time. Depending on logistics, a trip to the Royal Tyrrell Museum in Drumheller may take place.

What to Bring

The badlands of southern Alberta have a semi-arid climate with temperatures that often reach 30-40C (86-100 F) during July. June is the wet month. Nights can be cool anytime throughout the summer. Thus, we recommend that you bring clothing suitable for a broad range of weather conditions and temperatures. We recommend that you include the following items on your list.

• long pants
• rain gear
• water canteen
• shorts
• bathing suit
• sunglasses
• T-shirts
• towel
• sunscreen & lip balm
• absorbent socks
• sleeping bag
• light day pack
• light shoes
• pillow
• work gloves
• hiking boots (cactus-proof)
• wide-brim sun-hat
• camera & film
• reading material

Getting There

The closest international airport to Brooks is Calgary, 175 km to the west. Participants are responsible for getting to Brooks, where they will be met by a member of our staff. Greyhound (phone # (403)-265-9111) runs 4 buses a day from Calgary to Brooks. If you are driving from Calgary, take the TransCanada Highway east to Brooks and then follow the signs north to Dinosaur Provincial Park. Ample parking is available at the Park.

Visits by Friends and Family

Family and friends may visit with you on occasion and as long as their visit does not interfere with the work schedule. For reasons of logistics and safety they may not stay in the field camp. There is, however, a public campground in Dinosaur Provincial Park run by Parks' staff where they may wish to make arrangements to stay (reservations for this campground are a good idea during the summer; call (403) 378-4342).

Cost

For one person the fee is $600.00/week (this includes the 7% Federal Goods and Services Tax). The fee covers accommodation, all meals and transportation in Dinosaur Provincial Park. A non-refundable deposit of $250.00 is required immediately upon acceptance into the programme; the balance is due no later than time of arrival.

Restrictions

Participants must be a minimum of 18 years of age. There is no maximum age limit, however, field work is physically challenging and we ask that applicants be in good physical condition (capable of strenuous hikes) and tolerant of a hot and dry climate. Smoking is not allowed in any of the trailers or buildings at the Park. Pets are not allowed in the field camp.

This document was prepared by Wayne Hortensius, Calgary, Alberta, Canada for the Royal Tyrrell Museum Cooperating Society. All information © 1995 Royal Tyrrell Museum. All Rights Reserved.
Updated: July 29, 1995

Comments, questions, suggestions?