BOZEMAN – The Museum of the Rockies will host the fourth annual Dinosaurs and MOR! festival March 28-30, featuring talks by top paleontologists, hands-on workshops and activities for all ages.
Events include family-friendly programs and workshops, junior paleontologist passport stations and 18 presentations by renowned scientists. For more information and to purchase tickets to any of the events, visit museumoftherockies.org/signature-events/dinos.
Dinosaurs and MOR! begins with an appreciation night for museum members on Friday, March 28, from 5:30 to 8 p.m. Members can attend paleontology-themed activity stations, a planetarium show and the first-ever unveiling of a rare Plioplatecarpus peckensis mosasaur by paleontologist Evan Sonnenberg. Jingmai O’Connor, paleontologist and author of “When Dinosaurs Conquered the Skies,” and author and illustrator Ted Rechlin, will conduct a book signing.
The dinner and keynote address by O’Connor will be at 6:30 p.m. Saturday, March 29, in Inspiration Hall, located in MSU’s Norm Asbjornson Hall. Dinner tickets are $65 for museum members and $75 for non-members, and space is limited. All other events during “Dinos and MOR!” will take place at the Museum of the Rockies.
The All-Access Paleo Lecture Series will be Saturday and Sunday, March 29 and 30, from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. For a list of speakers, visit museumoftherockies.org/signature-events/dinos.
Family Weekend will be Saturday and Sunday, March 29 and 30, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. It will include paleo-passport activity stations and the film “Dinosaurs: A Story of Survival” in the Taylor Planetarium. Participants can have their passports stamped at all stations and receive a Junior Paleontologist Certificate signed by MOR curator of paleontology John Scannella. The event is included with membership or regular museum admission and includes access to the exhibition, “SUE: The T. rex Experience,” currently on display.
Workshops and classes over the festival weekend include:
- Prehistoric Palettes Workshop – Saturday and Sunday from 11 a.m. to noon. Children ages 6 to 12 will explore the prehistoric giants that roamed Montana millions of years ago, customize their own glass of paleo punch and complete a sauropod masterpiece. Tickets are $15 for member children and $25 for participating member caregivers. Tickets cost $25 for non-member children and $30 for participating non-member caregivers, which includes museum admission. The workshop is limited to 20 children, and registration is required.
- DIY Dinosaur Terrarium Workshop – Saturday and Sunday from 1 to 3 p.m. Youth and adults 13 and above can choose plants, rocks and tiny dinosaurs to create their own dinosaur terrariums. Along the way, they will learn about the Cretaceous period and how plants, rocks and terrain shaped the world of dinosaurs. The price is $30 for members and $45 for non-members, which includes museum admission. Workshop size is limited to 25 participants, and registration is required.
- Make and Take Fossil Cast Workshop – Saturday and Sunday from 3 to 4 p.m. Youth and adults 13 and above will choose a real fossil to mold and create a detailed plaster cast with expert guidance. The price is $40 for members and $55 for non-members, which includes museum admission. Workshop size is limited to 25 participants, and registration is required.
