A Dinosaur Planet at Upper Dublin High School

vertebra and the complete tail of Suuwassea emilieae, a 60′ long sauropod dinosaur

The Upper Dublin High School Science Department is featuring a major dinosaur exhibit in the Upper Dublin High School Science Department lobby. This exhibit features the work of the Bighorn Basin Paleontological Institute, a non-profit paleontological organization that specializes in dinosaur paleontology and is based in Upper Dublin.

Dr. Rick Schmidt, Upper Dublin High School Geoscience teacher, is also the Educational Program Director for the Institute. Over the past few years, six Upper Dublin High School students had the opportunity to participate in field work in Montana and Wyoming and wanted to feature this work.

The display features educational information about what goes into a paleontological dig, how fossils are removed and prepared for display, and what it’s like working in the high desert of the Bighorn Basin. Upper Dublin High School will also have a variety of Jurassic period dinosaur fossils on display that rival any small museum collection. This collection includes a vertebra and the complete tail of Suuwassea emilieae, a 60′ long sauropod dinosaur known from only three skeletons in the world.

The fossils were unearthed during the 2019 field season with the help of some of Upper Dublin High School students and this is the first time these fossils have ever been on public display. This year, work will continue to find even more of this animal’s 148 million year old remains.