At Te Papa, the new Museum of New Zealand we have a highly successful
mosasaur dig (mosasaurs having been apparently more common in these parts
than their terrestrial counterparts).  It's a cast "art-rock" (proprietary
cement/concrete material) skeleton embedded into the base of an
"excavation".  This is filled with sand (sometimes containing, as part of a
booked programme, ceramic replica fossils of shells).  Visitors (usually
children, or parents with children) can then "excavate" the fossil, brushing
away the sand to reveal the form beneath.  For young children it's a
treasure hunt in a sand-pit, for older ones and for programmed groups it's
used to teach about palaeontology, excavation and science.  It has been very
successful indeed in the 18 months since we opened.

Because it is outside, we need to cover it carefully each night, and check
it in the morning for cat (and other) droppings - the only draw-back.

________________

Stuart Park
Te Papa, Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa,
Wellington, New Zealand.
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