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I spent some time meandering through South Dakota in May, taking in the sprawling forests and mountains. It’s truly a beautiful area of the country with plenty to see and do. ^ Pareidolia clearly in full effect. Since I was in SD, I knew I had to pay a visit to the BHI - and if you happen to like fossils, I think you’ll enjoy tagging along. The BHI is a private company which specializes in producing cast replicas for museums and the general public. Until October 2020, they played host to the T. rex “Stan,” who was auctioned off for $32 million; it has recently been revealed that Stan is to be in a new museum in the UAE (whether Stan is privately owned or technically in a public trust in the museum I do not know, for those who wonder. In any case, at least he'll be enjoyed by the public). Besides Stan, the BHI is well-known for many other significant specimens including T. rex “Sue,” and Triceratops “Lane” (now displayed in the Field Museum in Illinois, and The Houston Museum of Nature and Science in Texas, respectively). I was looking forward to the visit since I have a couple of their casts, and I’d gotten a glimpse of the place through TFF. It was a rainy morning in the small town of Hill City; even without the sign, I knew I was at the right place. I entered through the gift shop and was immediately struck by the density of the awesomeness before me. My jaw didn’t leave the floor until I somehow convinced myself that I needed to go home. The BHI museum is in a small, one-room building that is packed top-to-bottom front-to-back with fossils. The center is a tight weave of dinosaur skeletons while the walls are lined with lighted cabinets. I was evidently the first visitor that day so I was able to enjoy the space undisturbed for a while. I normally don’t take so many pictures since I usually get lost in experiencing a new place, but I knew I was going to write about it, so I reminded myself to capture more. Some of them should also serve as good reference images (for me at least). (If you’re concerned about “spoiling” the experience for yourself, best get out now since this is pretty thorough.) So sit back and scroll as we take a short walk around the room… Some trace fossils An impressive Tylosaurus proriger from the Niobrara formation of Kansas, complete with sclerotic bones. “Big Al 2,” an Allosaurus (replica) A young Torosaurus skull (I believe part of the frill has been reconstructed) Anzu, pachycephalosaurus, T. rex Edmontosaurus annectens ... and an oddly-postured young Triceratops Sue's skull and a neat sculpture of the dig Denversaurus skull and armor Tarbosaurus skull (replica) Triceratops Smile! Towards the back is a display on the Western Interior Seaway, complete with Baculites and Xiphactinus.

Did you watch the "documovie" Dinosaur 13? What do you think of it? Was it slanted to an unacceptable level? What is the part of the truth that is not portrayed in the movie? Why were interviewed just two (or one?) witnesses on the part of the federal government in all the movie? What was really wrong with the activity of the BHI? I would like to know more about that story, about the wrongs of each of the parts interested in the trial. From the movie it seems that the federal government was the evil and the BHI was the good guy: is it a fair reconstruction of the reality or was it the other way around? I am about to read the book of the story, Rex Appeal, because I want to know more about it, I want answers. Probably is not the best choice I could have done, as the book was written by Larson himself and Kristin Donnan, two victims of those events. The fact is, probably buying that book was the only choice, as there are no other books, to my knowledge. Was Pete Larson really doing some illegal trading of fossils as people say? I mean, he seems a good guy, I have read comments by some of you that say so. And his passion is snarge clear: I can see it from his eyes, he is in love with his job. I cannot understand how is possible to convict someone like him of illegal trade of fossils, as he seems well aware of the importance of science and of dinosaurs on education. I know I am in a huge community and probably some of you have more information about that infamous story. That's why I am writing. Thank you guys!

So I went to the Black Hills Insitute and I made a lot of photos, so I thought I'd share. The Black Hills Institute museum in Hill City is pretty small, it's just one hall. But this one hall is absolutely packed with stuff. This is also the home of the T. rex Stan. Many of the skeletons are casts, but there are plenty of real fossils here as well. The skeleton of Stan. This is the real skeleton and the real skull is placed beside it in the corner. But I didn't even notice that at the time. Skull of Torosaurus. Notice the holes in the frill. Triceratops doesn't have these holes in it's frill. Tylosaurus proriger. Another real specimen. Two Allosaurus skeletons. An Ornithomimid as well as Stan, the Senckenberg Edmontosaurus mummy and Tarbosaurus skull in the background. Skeleton of Albertosaurus, skull of Albertosaurus on the left and skull of Gorgosaurus on the right. A second T. rex skeleton. And a lineup of T. rex skulls in the background. Thescelosaurus and Pachycephalosaurus. Juvenile Edmontosaurus skeleton below the second T. rex skeleton. Cast of the Triceratops Raymond. Crestless Pteranodon on the left as well as a Nyctosaurus? arm/wing at the bottom. Dromaeosaurus in the middle between the legs of the Triceratops and a primitive Sirenian with legs on the right. Bambiraptor and Archaeopteryx skeletons. Foot and skull of Deinonychus and Herrerasaurus, Dromaeosaurus and Eoraptor skulls at the bottom. T. rex arm (cast of Sue) and brian endocast left. Nanotyrannus skull on the right. Mongolian Dinosaurs. Saichania and Saurolophus skulls at the top. Velociraptor skull and oviraptorid partial skeletons below that. Prenocephale, Oviraptor, Archaeornithimimus and Alioramus at the bottom. Tethyshadros top left, and Psittacosaurus nest, and skeletons on the bottom left. Brontosaurus leg in the middle and baby Apatosaurus on the right. Velociraptor and Protoceratops fighting on the far right. Edaphosaurus skeleton. And this is just a small selection of the photos I took. There's just so much stuff here and I only spent a few hours here. The gift shop is also worth a vist btw. I bought a rather nice replica of a tooth from Stan and a Thescelosaurus phalange.