Great Plains Dinosaur Museum adds new statues

Have you driven east of Malta on highway two and noticed a few creatures, that look like a cross between Jurassic Park and Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory?

Those dinosaurs, one 26 foot long Lime Green, Orange, blue and purple Brontosaur, one Mustang Blue, orange bellied and green horned triceratops and one purple stegosaurus now guard the front yard of the Great Plains Dinosaur Museum. Malta's newest members are less than one mile east of Little Ott's Sinclair, the only other dinosaur on the block.

The dinosaurs found their newest home in Malta, last Saturday, May 31. They are part of the museum's 2014 grand reopening, that will happen this Saturday, entitled "Dino Days."

Thanks to the help of several volunteers, a flat bed trailer and crane, the three statues made it to the museum after being in an undisclosed location over the winter.

These dinosaurs are three of the four the Great Plains Dinosaur Museum purchased last year with grant money that was awarded to them through the Tourism Infrastructure Investment Program, TIIP for short.

"It's a program that gives you money for bricks and mortar," said Sue Frary, Director of Exhibits, Programs and Scientific Liaisons at the Great Plains Dinosaur Museum. "To create things for your infrastructure."

She wanted the dinosaurs to stop traffic as cars and trucks came into town. As bright as the statues are, you would wonder it you could see them from space.

Unlike, dinosaurs that walked the earth in previous millennia, these dinosaurs, reincarnated in the 60's, are made out of fiber glass and stuffed with foam, meaning they are not meant to be climbed upon, but rather enjoyed. This is made apparent thanks to signs made by Greg Smith at Crossroads Coffee.

"There's no internal iron or anything," said Frary. "These were made in 1960, the way you can tell is because they look how everybody thought, they looked like in the late fifties," she continued, pointing at the feet of the triceratops, that are clawed.

She went on to say that in today's interpretation the three-horned vegetarian has feet similar to plant eaters of today, like the rhinoceros.

So what's up with the psychedelic coloring of the statues?

"We painted them the Malta Blue, because we wanted the Malta Blue as the colors," said Frary. "We just kind of went wild.

The project took many months to complete, but thanks to the efforts of many helpers including David Veseth, who painted most of the long necked dino, the project was complete last Friday.

The task to get these dinosaurs, from their home in Plains, Mt. wasn't as simple as transporting them across state and adding a new paint job. Frary had to rebuild a few parts missing from the dinosaurs, including the plates on the stegosaurus, because kids broke them off.

The back of the Brontosaurus was cracked as well.

Apparently the Tyrannosaurus Rex was so damaged to do weather and another reckless variable, that the company will take on that project another year.

"He is so beat-up because someone tried to ride him and he fell over," Frary told the PCN. "His feet broke and it looks like his mouth will have to be re-done because they broke his jaw."

The statues first started in Columbia Falls, where they resided for 30 years. The mini golf course in Plains was their second home.

"They really are a part of Montana's history," said Frary. "We still don't know who built them or where they came from originally."

One legend is that because mini golf courses were very popular in the 60's, it may have been built by a company that built the courses.

The dinosaurs that are presented outside are all represented by fossils that can be seen inside the museum as well.

"We have little pieces of a T-Rex, but we do have a stegosaur, we do have a triceratops and we have a long neck and skull of a Brontosaur," said Frary.

Though the creatures haven't officially been named, during the dinosaurs' move from an undisclosed location to the museum, many of the helpers took to calling him "Bubba."

The museum will soon take names, from all comers, that bring valid names. The dinosaurs will be anointed with the name after a vote is taken.

In addition to the dinosaurs, the GPDM, will feature two new exhibits, one planned another unplanned.

One exhibit features microscopes, so visitors can have in in-depth look at fossils and their fossilize cell-form.

The surprise exhibit will feature six stromatolites, fossils of blue-green algae, that many believe are the reason Earth has a livable-breathable atmosphere today. They are also the oldest forms of fossil found on the planet, the first life on earth.

The fossil is layer upon layer of algae covered in sediment, almost lasagna like in appearance, when cracked open.

"They existed all over the Earth, when earth had an atmosphere of carbon dioxide, methane and ammonia, nasty stuff," Frary told the PCN.

These guys could breathe it and absorb," she continued.

She went on to say that due to photosynthesis, the stromatolites changed our atmosphere to it's oxygen-rich state.

"They made it possible for other life forms to take off because now we have oxygen," she said. "If you like breathing oxygen, you can thank the stromatolites."

According to Frary when scientist look for life on other planets, they consider Earth's previous situation and looks for algae, like the stromatolites, that will now be seen at the GPDM.

The fossils were found in the Beartooth Mountains and Glacier National Park.

Examples of living, growing stromatolites exist in two places, Shark's Bay in Australia and another location in the Bahamas.

The stromatolites can exist because of the saltiness of the water.

"They grow very slowly. I think it takes 100 years for one centimeter of growth," Frary said.