Get Institutionalized

When the Dino Institute outgrew their facilities in the old fishing lodge, they moved into the modern edifice we see today. The current museum building was constructed well away from the unruly environment of the dormitories and even further removed from other undesirable neighbors (Chester & Hester anyone?).

The Dino Institute stands in stark contrast to the rest of Diggs County's environs. Separated by commanding monuments and set amidst beautifully manicured grounds, the Institute is a model of professional excellence and decorum. Visitors hoping to gain a true education in the area's paleontological history are invited to visit the museum and its current marquee exhibit, entitled "DINOSAUR." (The attraction, originally called "Countdown to Extinction," draws elements from the 2000 Disney film Dinosaur. In addition to the name, the statue out front was also changed from a Triceratops to Aladar, the Iguanodon hero of the film.)

Pause for a moment before entering the museum, and you'll notice this dedication plaque, stating the opening date of the facility as April 22, 1978 (exactly twenty years prior to the opening of Disney's Animal Kingdom). The concrete structure is in line architecturally with buildings from the late '70s period.

Once inside, take time to peruse what new Institute Director Dr. Helen Marsh describes as "those quaint exhibits in the old wing." They're actually very interesting, showing us examples of living things still around from the days of dinosaurs as well as a variety of theories for why dinosaurs became extinct.

Just as the professors and interns disagreed on how to interpret some of their finds, the Dino Institute Museum's displays present several theories on extinction. Were the dinosaurs killed off by a massive asteroid impact, or was it something else like the spread of disease or the rise of mammals? Perhaps it was a combination of these things.

Once we get into the main room of the museum, though, it becomes clear that the Dino Institute feels the asteroid impact was the primary cause. We are presented with a wall-size recreation of the earth's strata, showing the ashy gray layer known as the KT Boundary. Scientists believe this layer was formed as the ash and soot from the asteroid impact settled back down to earth. Most significantly, dinosaur fossils are only found below the KT Boundary, implying that the creatures did not survive the event.

The center of the room is dominated by the massive skeleton of a Carnotaurus, the horned predator featured as antagonist in the Dinosaur film and in the attraction of the same name (more on that tomorrow). For dramatic purposes, the size of Carnotaurus has been exaggerated (it would have been slightly smaller, about 25 feet long) and its red color has been imagined to give it a more menacing appearance.

Of course, no visit to the Dino Institute would be complete without a stop at the museum's gift shop, well-stocked with the finest items with which to continue one's dinosaur education.

DORM-osaurus

While sections of the original Dino Institute building have since been turned over to the paleontologists working in the area, the remainder of the facility houses dormitories for the grad students.

From the look of things, there's not much for them to do in Diggs County when they're not working the Boneyard. This has led to all sorts of pranks, the most widespread being those of the "osaurus" bandit. He or she has tacked "osaurus" on the tail end of signs all over the place. The largest of these is nailed to the old "RESTAURANT" sign atop the building, changing it to "RESTAURANT-osaurus."

Look around, and you'll find lots of other examples of intern hijinks. A pair of chairs are positioned on the roof (along with a stack of empty beer cans) for a round of archery. Bows and plunger arrows are standing by, and it looks like someone has already gotten off a few shots. A couple of arrows are firmly stuck to the wall of the water tower across the way.

Off to the right are the windows of the dorms themselves. You can definitely college students live here. At one window is a wind chime made of cans. The other has clothes strung out to dry. No spare change to do laundry this week, I guess.

Just because they're a little wild, it doesn't mean these students don't have rules to live by: No Food or Drink in the Bunk Room, No Loud Music After 10, Lights Out at 11.

In the Bunk Room, take the time to look up and look closely. There are literally hundreds of tiny details here to discover, from magazines and record albums to movie posters and book titles (all relevant to Dinoland). Each bunk has a distinct personality. At one, stanchions and velvet rope from an old theater line the edge of the loft. There's even a sign stating "Balcony is Closed." Still another favors a retro style with macrame, candles and a bean bag chair.

Down below is The Hip Joint, a cool hangout that students over the years have cobbled together. The walls of The Hip Joint are covered with plaques awarded to individuals for significant accomplishments... or the lack thereof. Quite a few of them are Zip Awards, presented to the intern who manages to find absolutely nothing ("zip") by the end of the season.

Along the outside edge of The Hip Joint is this old Airstream trailer (which actually belonged to the grandmother of one of the Imagineers who worked on the project).

Inside, it's been made over as the hippest hangout of them all, with cool retro booths and a jukebox stacked with great old songs.

Just what songs, you may wonder? Well, some are real ("I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" & "She Blinded Me with Science"), some are made up ("Some Encrusted Evening" & "If I Knew You Were Coming, I'd Have Dug a Bone") but all help further the story of Dinoland, U.S.A.

Some Prehistoric History

The story of the area we now affectionately know as Dinoland, U.S.A. actually goes back long before the first fossils were uncovered here. Early tourists flocked to these parts for the legendary fishing in the clear waters of the Discovery River. The building pictured above was initially constructed in the 1930s to serve as a lodge for visiting anglers. To this day, you can still find a prize catch or two displayed on the walls inside.

Once the bones of a T-Rex popped up in '47, things began to change for Diggs County. People came here from all over the world, first to study the fossil finds then to capitalize on them. The Dino Institute, founded in the 1950s through grants from several major corporations and private investors, started funding organized work in the neighboring Boneyard and took over the old fishing lodge as their base of operations.

The lodge was expanded and became home to the Dino Institute's first museum (some of the original displays remain), along with Institute offices, work space and a restaurant creatively titled, "RESTAURANT."

By the late-'70s, the Dino Institute had outgrown this space and moved into a modern, custom-built facility not far away. It's in that building that the Institute's new Director, Dr. Helen Marsh, is stirring up the scientific community with controversial new methods of "studying" dinosaurs, but that's a story for another day.

Once the Dino Institute and Museum moved out, the old building was completely taken over by the professors, paleontologists and grad students. The restaurant is still there, but much of the rest of the interior is now set aside for work space and dormitories.

And the building has been expanded even further in the past 30 years. Temporary tent structures have been set up for fossil prep and this Quonset hut was added as a garage for vehicle maintenance.

Inside, an engine block is hanging above, waiting to be dropped back in, and there are parts and tools everywhere. There's even a sense of humor to the place, as the guys working on the cars seem to have used their greasy handprints to paint a dinosaur or two on the walls.

Take the Day Off

It's Thanksgiving, and just like people in much of the country today, the interns working in Dinoland, U.S.A. are enjoying some well-deserved R & R. Of course, if you were to ask Dr. Dunn, he would probably tell you that his interns look for every chance they can to goof off.

There are deck chairs and coolers sprawled out on the upper level, best for catching some rays or enjoying the view, and this dino-bike for commuting from the dormitories, cruising the site or just generally disturbing the professors.

Look around this area, and you'll find the interns have everything they need to enjoy a lazy afternoon of not working. There's a portable stereo, plenty of cold drinks, and a grill for cooking up some burgers.

The white board on the back wall is labeled "Fossil Recovery List," but don't be fooled. This area is purely all play and no work. A closer look at the board reveals the usual shenanigans.

Clearly, the interns here are having a good time, but they also know how to get the job done. Good thing, because tomorrow morning there's no Black Friday sale at Chester & Hester's Dinosaur Treasures. It's back to work in the Boneyard. The Dino Institute is funding this work, and they expect results!

A Mammoth Discovery

Not all the finds being unearthed by the teams working in Dinoland are dinosaurs. At this Dig Site (head to the upper level of the Boneyard and across the Oldengate Bridge), the team has discovered the fossilized remains of a Columbian Mammoth, dating back approximately 10,000 years.

As the interns and Guest paleontologists uncover more of the find, they come across evidence of what might have happened to this creature. The tracks of both humans and a Sabertooth cat (Smilodon) can be found. There's also a spear tip and marks on the bones left by human tools. Was the Mammoth hunted by a tribe of warriors? Maybe, but there are also fragments from a Smilodon fang and scrapes on another bone.

Typical of many such sites, there are different ways of interpreting the fossil evidence... and differences of opinion among those doing the work.

Can You Dig It?

The Boneyard Fossil Fun Site in Dinoland, U.S.A. is many things. On the surface, it's a great playground area that's set up like a dinosaur dig. Young Guests can scale the scaffolding, reveal bones and slide down spill chutes. There's a lot more here, though, that's not just for the kids. The Boneyard also happens to be a hotbed of story material and a decent education in paleontology.

The Boneyard is the site of an incredibly rich deposit of fossils from the late Cretaceous period. In fact, this is where the first dinosaur bones - those of a T-rex - were discovered in Diggs County back in 1947. Today, the work of unearthing, documenting and cataloguing fossil finds continues under the guidance of Dr. Bernard Dunn and his team.

The tools of their trade, everything from spades and chisels to jackhammers and shovels, are scattered everywhere.

You'll also come across the team's notes. The Boneyard is filled with them, and they're loaded with fascinating details. Take this chalkboard, for example. There's a discussion of how dinosaurs are often classified by their hip bones (either bird-hipped or lizard-hipped), and there's a terrific diagram and explanation of the site geology.

The information about what can be found in the strata is interesting to read, but even more so to actually see. As you explore the Boneyard, you'll find these rock layers exposed, allowing for close study of their composition.

This white board not only educates us on the Hadrosaurs found in a nearby fossil matrix, but also opens a window into the paleontological world, where there are often conflicting theories. Intern Jenny Weinstein has posted a theory on the board as to why there are so many Hadrosaur skeletons grouped together. She suggests it could be evidence of a huge cataclysm, but one of her professors has left her a message in return, proposing other potential answers.

The pair of fossilized tracks embedded in this area of the Boneyard present a similar controversy. In this case, Jenny made the find and presented a straightforward assessment. Another intern has come along, insisting that these tracks show a chase between a Theropod (meat eater) and Sauropod (plant eater). In yet another difference of opinion, Dr. Woo has asked the question, "How do we know which came first? One set may have followed the other by hours."

Mark Rios, an intern known to his friends as "Animal," has been working on clearing this pair of Triceratops skulls. With his skewed view of the world, Animal has cooked up an idea that these two were locked in battle, allowing themselves to starve to death before one would concede defeat to the other. Dunn has stepped in to remind Rios to consider all the evidence (or lack thereof).

All these pieces in the Boneyard help to educate us, but they also clearly demonstrate one of the greatest challenges facing paleontologists. Their theories are at the mercy of 65 million-year-old fossil evidence, much of which can appear contradictory or confusing.

Hmmm... If only the scientists could somehow travel back in time to have the chance to observe the dinosaurs as they really lived. Oh, but that would be silly and reckless. Besides, it would take all the fun out of digging and uncovering mysteries.