My supercalifragilisticexpialidocious week-end

[David in Japan]

Hi,

Let me tell you about the best week-end I ever spend as fossil passionate.

Saturday:

Everything started Saturday (27^th) at the Mifune Dinosaur Museum (MDM) where I help there as volunteer about three times a week. I am usually in charge of the child related event like post card or replica work-shop however this Saturday was not a usual Saturday. It was the day (MDM) have to send back to Montana’s Rockies museum the 1,5 Ton of rocks and fossils they received 1 years ago when started the “preparation project” and it was the day before the symposium and coming of Phillip Currie in Mifune.

In fact MDM and Museum of the Rockies are sister Museum since 2012 and established a program with MDM. According to this program, MoR send to Japan bones to prep, and prepped bones are send back the following years.

Last years, MDM received about 1,5T (resin+matrix) and extracted about 140 Daspletosaurus’ bones. For the occasion, Patrick Leiggi and Carrie Ancell came to Japan to supervise and help for the final preparation.

For an amateur like me, seeing these professionals working and the result of this years of work was incredible.

So after a hard day helping for the preparation for Mr Currie arrival and the sending of the Daspletosaurus’ bones I came back home with the promise than Monday will be a wonderful day.

And what wonderful day it will be!

[David in Japan]

Sunday:

My work starting from midday I decided to spend few hours on the field to test my chance. Woke up at 6 am and I drove to Yoshimuta plateau (30 minutes ride from MDM, 1 hour 30 minutes from my place) and spend about 2 hours there. There you can have access to Mifune lower formation’s outcrops on several spot in the mountain and along the forest trail. It is marine deposit composed mainly of shells like septifer mifunensis, eomiodon matsubasensis, goshouraia crenulata and maedae. However as the mouth of a river was situated there to, from time to time you can find some crocs teeth, turtle bones (Carettochelys insculpta and Pelodiscus sinensis), plants and if you are very, very lucky dino teeth/bones.

This time, I did not have time to take picture so if you want to see what the spots look like, I invite you to refer to one of my other post at this address:

http://www.thefossilforum.com/index.php?/topic/60896-because-the-trip-and-the-discovery-is-a-big-part-of-our-passion/

I went there to kill time before work at the Museum but it proved to be a good Idea. During this trip I found as usual septifer Mifunensis, leaves really well conserved (however not complete), brown amber (golf ball size, unfortunately it was already broken when I found it. I will give it to the museum so they can expose it) and a Carettochelys insculpta shell bone.

The day started really well for me, but I had now to return to the museum so I can start my shift and help for the symposium, Pr Currie presentation, and end of the day party.

I will skip the laborious part of the day and go to the essential, It was just like Santa claus was coming to town.

We had first a Symposium concerning museum network development and how improve access to MDM and increase frequentation by MDM curator Mr Ikegami, Kumamoto prefectural natural museum curator, Aso museum and Museum of the Rockies Patrick Leiggi.

“Patto san” Leiggi explained during the symposium how MOR developed itself and how they will try to develop the museum in the future. Then we discuss about the “preparator project” between MDM and MoR and how enthusiast was Rockies’ staff concerning the dev of the program and the museum collaboration.

Then Mr Leiggi introduced us Philipp Currie and followed a conference on Royal Tyrell Museum, Alberta’s badlands, recent discoveries (baby ceratopsian, discovery of feathered ornithomimosaurus, evolution of dino to birds). An awesome conference, I did not want to finish.

Finally after the conference we had a party with all staff and spoke a little more freely with our guest. I am too shy so I won’t post any pictures of me with Pr Currie or Pr Leiggi but you can say immediately by the stupid smile on my face that this is a moment I will cherish in my fossil lover life. So enriching, so instructing!

Sorry to annoy everyone who just wanted to read a hunting trip report but for an amateur like me, this moment were far more valuable than any fossil.

Hope everybody to make great find and meet great people too.

David

[ynot]

Way cool!!! That is the kind of experience that most can only dream of!!

Tony

[Manticocerasman]

what an awesome weekend David

[JohnJ]

I am sure that your enthusiasm brought a smile to more than one member's face.

[David in Japan]

Amber donated to mdm this morning.according to museum staff, it is so far the biggest amber found in this formation.

Looking forward to seeing it exposed.

[Raggedy Man]

I am sure that your enthusiasm brought a smile to more than one member's face.

Edited March 2, 2016 by Raggedy Man

[PalaeozoicJapan]

Hi David,

Your palaeontology experiences in Japan sound amazing! I am working on a project at the moment looking at Japanese trilobites (and ostracods) from the early (and mid) Palaeozoic. I am actually heading to Kumamoto in May to meet with some colleagues before visiting various museums to collect specimens. I wonder if you know of any amateur trilobite collectors in Japan at the moment? It would be really useful for me to be able to get my hands on some newly collected specimens, or even photos.

Best wishes,

Chris