One Nation, Under God
The Great Plains Dinosaur Museum and Field Station (GPDM) in Malta will celebrate their 10th anniversary in Phillips County this Friday night, with the annual Wine & Dino which will feature live music and food as well as the unveiling of a new local beer and new species of dinosaur with a special name.
Cary Woodruff, GPDM Director of Paleontology, said that the museum opened for the 2018 season on May 1 and hosted many school groups and starting last week, people who are traveling through the area have started to trickle through the station. At some of the past Wine & Dino events, the big unveiling for the evening was a new display. This Friday at the event in Malta, Woodruff explained the species being unveiled is a completely new dinosaur to science.
“And it is a dinosaur that is in our showcase here so it is not like we are just showcasing some find that is in a museum elsewhere.,” he explained. “Paleontologists came here years ago, looked in our collection and realized that it was new and then did all the research.”
Woodruff said that the specimen was discovered in the mid-2000’s when Dr. David Evans was traveling through the area and saw them in the GDPM and said that the group of dinosaurs that the specimen belongs to has never been found in the Age of Rock in Montana.
“He then got a team together who specializes in this type of dinosaurs,” Woodruff added. “He told the team ‘hey guys, there is this really cool thing that nobody knows about in little, old Malta and you guys need to get up here and come and work on it’ and that is exactly what they did.”
Woodruff said that the species was found north of Malta and its name will be very special in that it will honor the landowners it was found on and the genius name will be very special for Montana.
“It will be a really big deal for the town and the community,” Woodruff said, keeping the secret close to his vest.
Woodruff said that people attending the celebration this year can expect some new twists from years past including raffles and silent auctions as well as new museum-themed artwork that was specially commissioned for the museum’s 10th anniversary. Woodruff said that the GPDM will also be joining forces with Blueridge Brewery, a new Malta business, who will also have a special unveiling on the night.
“They are doing a very special dinosaur beer that corresponds with the new dinosaur,” Woodruff said.
Tickets for the celebration are $10 for adults, $5 for children 12 and under and the night will include free admission to the GPDM and the Phillips County Museum; live music provided by the Stonebroke String Band; and barbeque from Ray J’s. The event will begin at 6 p.m. and at 7:30 p.m. the unveiling of the new species of dinosaur will take place.
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