Burke Museum

This may look like a fossil fish tail, but it’s actually a 66-million-year-old palm frond! The hadrosaur we’re working on was buried in a sandy streambed after it died and is mixed together with a lot of plant remains that were also buried there. It’s rare to see plant remains so well preserved in a setting like this because the sand is often too course to preserve fine details, so this is a lucky find!
What kind of plant environment was our hadrosaur living in? “Based on other sites nearby where we have more complete paleofloral records, folks draw a comparison to a warm, wet swampy environment—think of the Mississippi River delta today. We find conifers (e.g., swamp cypress-type plants), broad leaved angiosperm trees (sycamores, willow relatives), palms, ginkgos, etc.” - Paige Wilson Deibel, Burke paleobotany collections manager.

We’re experimenting with a new lab technique! Using sheets of low temperature thermoplastic made out of an archival adhesive, we can protect portions of our dinosaur we’re not currently working on and even keep delicate areas from falling apart when moving them. When we’re ready to take the shrink wrap off we just peel it off or use acetone (nail polish remover) to dissolve it.

If your first thought is “no,” consider this: When photography was invented in the early 19th century it was not considered art by many critics because the camera, a machine, was generating the image. Fossils are images of ancient living creatures generated by Earth itself via geologic processes, and like a photo, they preserve a unique visual snapshot of the past. Replacing the photographer in this metaphor is the fossil preparator, a specialist who may travel long distances to collect fossil-bearing rock and then carefully reveals the image inside by removing the parts of the rock that obscure the fossil from view. We spend a lot of time talking about the scientific value of fossils, but it is also important sometimes to appreciate their inherent aesthetic value. It’s no coincidence that fossils and more classically defined art are often housed in the same museums!

We’ve had some lively discussions here at the museum about this topic, but what do you think? Let us know in the comments.

Rod Crawford is the leading spider expert in Washington state with more than 50 years of experience in the field. He is also the curator of arachnids here at the Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture.

Is that spider dangerous? Giant house spider is the official common name for the species of spider you see in the video and while it is technically capable of biting, its venom is not dangerous to humans, and it is known to be docile. Rod has held many giant house spiders over the years in his bare hands and has used them as a hands-on demonstration with first graders in school programs.

Taha Ebrahamini is the author of “Street Trees of Seattle: An Illustrated Walking Guide” and will be giving a talk right here at the Burke on Thursday, May 14. Want to discover which neighborhood has the highest concentration of cherry street trees when cherry blossoms are at their peak? Curious how monkey puzzle trees made their way to the city? Get your tickets now: https://www.burkemuseum.org/calendar/author-talk-street-trees-seattle