Canadian Fossil Discovery Centre facts for kids

The Canadian Fossil Discovery Centre is a cool museum in Morden, Manitoba, Canada. It used to be called the Morden and District Museum. You can find it on the lower level of the Access Events Centre. This museum is special because it has the biggest collection of marine reptile fossils in all of Canada!

Amazing Fossil Collections

A display of Hesperornis regalis at the museum.

The museum's team often goes on fossil digs along the Manitoba Escarpment. This area is part of the Pembina Hills in the Red River Valley. Most of the fossils they find come from layers of rock called the Pierre Shale.

The Discovery Centre also has many fossils of a type of ancient squid called Tusoteuthis longa. These squid fossils show that these creatures lived far north in the ancient Cretaceous seas of North America.

One of the most famous fossils at the centre is "Bruce." Bruce is the world's largest mosasaur fossil that is shown to the public. He is a Tylosaurus pembinensis and is 43 feet (13 meters) long! Bruce even got a Guinness World Record on August 22, 2014. He was featured in the 2015 Guinness Book of World Records.

The museum works with other important groups like the Canadian Museums Association.

Fun Programs and Activities

The Discovery Centre offers many exciting programs for visitors. They have special programs for schools and guided tours. During the summer, kids can join fun day camps. You can also go on "paleo tours" or even join a "fossil dig program."

The museum has a huge collection of information about fossils from the Late Cretaceous Period. This is the time when dinosaurs and marine reptiles lived.

The most famous fossil, Bruce the mosasaur, is a huge attraction. He is the biggest mosasaur fossil displayed anywhere in the world.

Fossil dig programs happen every summer, from May to October. They take place along the Manitoba Escarpment. For example, a 26-foot (7.9 meter) long plesiosaur fossil was dug up in 2004 and 2005. Scientists have even studied what was found inside its stomach!

Future Plans for the Museum

The Canadian Fossil Discovery Centre is working to raise money for a brand new museum building. This new building will help them show even more amazing fossils.

The museum has also put details of its entire fossil collection online. This means that scientists and students from all over the world can easily look at the fossils. Other projects include creating educational kits for students from kindergarten to grade 12. These kits will help bring the museum's content into the Manitoba school lessons.

Awesome Videos and Films

A film producer named David Rabinovitch has made some cool films about the museum. He created a short introductory film and a longer educational film. He is also working on a documentary film. This documentary will tell the story of how Bruce, the giant mosasaur, was found. It will show how Bruce was dug up and brought to the City of Morden. This discovery helped start the Canadian Fossil Discovery Centre back in 1971.

Important Research and Discoveries

Scientists at the museum are very busy with research. They study ancient marine life and geology. They are looking into what the ancient Western Interior Seaway was like. They also study what plesiosaurs ate and how ancient maps were made.

Scientists from countries like Japan, China, England, and the United States also visit to help with research. They study the ancient marine waters of the Late Cretaceous Period in Manitoba.

The Canadian Fossil Discovery Centre also hosts a special meeting called the Manitoba Paleontology Symposium every two years. This helps share new research and helps paleontology grow in Manitoba and across Canada.

In 2016, a scientist named Keiichi Aotsuka announced a new species of ancient marine bird. It was found in the museum's collection and named Hesperornis lumgairi.

Awards and Recognitions

The Canadian Fossil Discovery Centre has received many special awards and honors:

• In 2005, Travel Manitoba called it a "Manitoba Star Attraction."
• In late 2014, Guinness World Records gave the museum a record for having the "Largest Publicly Displayed Mosasaur" (Bruce). This record was put in the 2016 Guinness World Records book.
• In 2015, Canada Post released a stamp featuring Bruce the Mosasaur. It was part of a five-stamp "Dino Series."
• Also in 2015, the centre helped make the mosasaur the official fossil symbol of the province of Manitoba.
• In 2016, the Canadian Fossil Discovery Centre became the seventh "Signature Museum" in the province of Manitoba.