Museum of the Rockies, Bozeman MT

Oct 12, 1998

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Was Tyrannosaurus Rex a Hunter or a Scavenger?

That was the theme of the T.Rex on Trial exhibit at the Museum of the Rockies. The museum curator is the famous paleontologist "Jack" Horner.

At first, it didn't seem to be a very big museum, but every turn it just got bigger and bigger. Just like the Denver Musuem of Natural History, the exhibits started with the formation of the earth, and progressed through time. There was a lot of interactive stuff.

We had planned on only a few hours there, but we were surprised when they said the museum was closing, and we hadn't seen everything in the paleontology section. We had to come back for another day.

There was even more than just paleontology, too. There was a whole section on Montana through time, which was very interesting. We didn't see it all, but enjoyed making patterns at the quilting exhibit.

Harrison and Amanda thought this was the best museum yet!

Bozeman has a lot of other neat things too, like the American Computer Museum. It claims to be the world's largest computer museum. We didn't get a chance to see it this time. We know we'll come back to Bozeman next year during our American Century Tour!

Related Links: (See below for additional resources you can buy online)

• Museum of the Rockies
• T.Rex Fiction Series
• Tyrannosaurus Facts
• Dinosaur Detective Quiz - Great fun!

-by Harrison

T. rex on trial was like a murder mystery. There were hidden clues to discover if T. rex killed Triceritops. Once I had enough evidence, I made a desicion.

-by Harrison

We used plastic disks to represent dinosaurs and put them in a slit. When they were goingdown,we would know if they were meat- or plant-eaters.

-by Harrison

At the end we gathered up the facts and weighed them on a real scale. I guess it turned out to be that T. rex was innocent of murder. He was probably a scavenger.

-by Amanda Maiasaura means "Good Mother Lizard". Maiasauras took good care of their young. Scientists can tell this from clues they found in Maiasaur nests. Dinosaur eggs have hard shells to protect the babies on land. I learned a lot about eggs at this museum. Fish and amphibian eggs have to be layed in water, then fertilized by the daddy. They are soft and have no shells. Reptile and bird eggs are fertilized inside the mother and then layed in a nest. They have leathery or hard shells to survive on land. Mammals eggs are very tiny and are fertilized inside the mother and the babies grow in her uterus until they're born. This protects the babies very well.

Dinosaur Egg Chalk by Cadaco Find out what's inside your own dinosaur egg! Use the chalk egg to draw pictures of prehistoric animals on your sidewalk, then keep the collectibe inside when you're through.

If your RV'ing in Bozeman, we recommend the Sunrise Campground. Easy access to I-90, yet very close to town. Clean restrooms and cordial owners.

After we left Bozeman, MT, we stayed at a very nice RV park just outside of Spokane, WA. We spent a lot of time in the hot tub and swimming pool. They even had mini-golf with Yogi and Boo Boo!

Resources
Try out some of these recommendations for your own learning activities.
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Digging Up Tyrannosaurus Rex by John R. Horner, Don Lessem (Contributor)

Find out from the expert himself what was involved in uncovering and preserving one of the best T.Rex skeletons ever found.

The Enourmous Egg
By Oliver Butterworth

What if your chicken laid an enourmous egg? What would you do? This is a very fun classic that is great for intermediate readers.