Dinosaurs QLD

Like a day on the set of Jurassic Park…

This morning we visited the Australian Age of Dinosaurs Museum located just outside of Winton. Perched on what’s known as The Jump-Up this aspirational museum is home to the largest collection of Australian dinosaur fossils in the world.

Our visit began with a guided tour through the Fossil Preparation Laboratory, where we learned how they painstakingly excavate, preserve and reconstruct individual bones. We then moved through the Collection Centre, where we saw the almost-complete skeletons of ‘Banjo’ and ‘Matilda’. These discoveries are particularly special because skulls and tails are rarely found. It makes sense when you think about it - they’re the bits that remained sticking out of the mud when a dinosaur came to grief and were therefore often the first to be picked apart by scavengers long before the remaining bones had a chance to fossilise.

Next we caught a glorified golf cart train to the Dinosaur Canyon site where we were shown reconstructed footprints and explored the ‘March of the Titanosaurs’ exhibit. For someone who can take or leave dinosaurs I admit it was all very well done.

We then made the 130km dash out to the Dinosaur Stampede National Monument at Lark Quarry Conservation Park, where more than 3,300 footprints left by around 150 long-extinct dinosaurs are preserved in rock. This snapshot of a few terrifying moments has been frozen in time, immortalising the event and making Winton home to the only known dinosaur stampede in the world. Very cool.

For me, this was the highlight of the day, seeing the actual dinosaur footprints in situ on the rock bed along with the fascinating story they tell. That said, it was a 260 km round trip for a 45 minute talk in a big tin shed. #archeaologistnerds🤓🦖🧐

We ended an epic day with dinner at the Tattersals Hotel (eventually after an hour+ long wait for food) before sitting back in an old school canvas sling chair for a nostalgic screening in the historic open air cinema - one of only two of its kind left operating in Australia. A fun experience.

P.S We also did our bit for the greater good on the way home ensuring there’s two fewer cane toads terrorising the land 😆Read more