(Pictures at the bottom of the page)
Each summer, Southwestern Adventist University sends its excavation team to the Hanson Research Station in Eastern Wyoming to conduct a dinosaur excavation research project. Their major area of interest is called taphonomy, which is an aspect of paleontology concerned with how an animal dies and becomes part of the fossil record. They wish to learn how this large fossil assemblage came to be buried in this location.
GIS technology is essential to the research, and they use high-precision GPS equipment to map each fossil as it is uncovered. They carefully record the exact locations of the fossils, identify and excavate them, then transport them to the museum at SWAU for additional preservation and study.
This year, some of our team members had the opportunity to participate in this project. During the first week of the dig, our team braved some very adverse weather conditions that included a tornado warning the day before we arrived, high winds in excess of 40 mph that made sleeping in tents challenging, and occasional strong afternoon storms that seemed to develop with limited warning.
Once our team had been orientated to the processes that the university uses for excavation and collection of fossils, they quickly got to work on removing the overburden rock layers to get down to the fossil layers. Once a team member makes it down to the fossil layers, exciting discoveries begin to appear. The team was able to excavate large bones from the duckbill dinosaur, Edmontosaurus. Along with teeth from the Troodon dinosaur genus and from alligators, the team also discovered fish gill coverings, several fossilized tendons, skull bone fragments, a toe bone section, and other various pieces of dinosaur bones.
All of the collected specimens were then recorded in a very extensive dinosaur fossil database, as part of the research project. Taking part in this research has been a tremendous blessing and learning opportunity for our ministry.
One of the major take-aways from the entire trip was that every specimen the team saw or held in their hands pointed to the fact that there really was a worldwide flood, just as the Bible states. We are so blessed to know we have a Creator whose word can be trusted, both when it comes to science and when it concerns eternity. As we like to say at the museum, “If the history in the Bible is true, then what the Bible says about our future is also true.” Geology and paleontology confirm the Bible 100% of the time.
So, when you visit the Creation Experience Museum in Branson, Missouri, be sure to ask a team member about the 2026 dinosaur dig. Who knows, you might be asking someone who was on the dig!
-Curtis Baker, president
We Dig Digs!
Over the past several years, members of our team have participated in multiple digs, with a wide variety of target fossils. For those who may have missed it, below are highlights from an especially notable one.
Montana Dig- May 2023
Likely our most impactful dig so far, this dinosaur- focused trip took our team to the frontlines of creation research. Working with other creationists to collect fossils for soft tissue analysis, we were tremendously excited to find that a core sample of our Triceratops pubic bone (now on display at the museum) revealed lab- verified soft tissue. Among the various tissues found, blood clots consistent with drowning (Need we say “Flood”?) gave another confirmation of the complete trustworthiness of Scripture. Click here to read more about this discovery.
Among those with an evolutionary worldview, the belief that theropod dinosaurs evolved into birds has become very popular. So, are there dinosaurs at your bird feeder, and is this a problem for those who believe the Bible?
Each Branson off-season, we seek to upgrade our guests museum experience by continually evaluating our facilities and exhibits. This year was no exception!
The fossil record is full of mystery. Bones tell us what once lived, but rarely do they tell us how those creatures lived, fought, or gave birth. On rare occasions, however, the fossil record reveals a scene frozen in time. These fossils, preserved “in motion,” reveal not only fascinating glimpses of animal behavior but also evidence of sudden, catastrophic burial.
“At this time of year when lawns across the nation are largely dormant, grass may not stand out as one of God’s amazing gifts to man. However, this humble group of plants deserves some special time in the spotlight.”
