2018, Manchester:

• The Biddulph Grange geology gallery project: restoring a unique display from 1862 that encapsulates an important stage in the history of the development of geological thinking. Nigel Larkin.
• From China to Nottingham: the making of Dinosaurs of China. Adam Smith.
• Using theatre skills in a science exhibition: Dinosaurs of China in Nottingham. Martin Nunn.
• Challenging preparation of a plesiosaur skeleton from a stressed nodule. Richard Forrest.
• The air-abrasive technique: re-evaluation of its use in fossil preparation. Mark Graham.
• Rescuing an early Cretaceous plesiosaur from an active tar sand mine. Donald Henderson.
• An introduction to ‘The Association for Materials and Methods in Palaeontology’ (AMMP) Meeting. Vicen Carrio.

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An introduction to “The Association for Materials and Methods in Palaeontology” (AMMP) meeting.

Vicen Carrió

National Museums of Scotland, Edinburgh

For more than 10 years I have been lucky to be able to attend the AMMP meetings. Originally known as Fossil Preparation and Collections Symposium, in 2015 the name was changed to AMMP to try to open the meeting to other areas of great importance when preparing fossils such as packing, adhesives, materials and preventative conservation. In my talk I would like to introduce you to this association and give you a taste of what a five day conference can provide. The conference is set up in a way to provide different activities to enhance and learn new techniques and tips in the conservation and preparation of fossil material. On the first day you are able to choose between workshops such as Jacketing and cradle, teaching observational, tactile skills and databases or undertaking fieldtrips to a Conservation Centre (if available) or a local “must see” visitor attraction. The second day is the Symposia - Two sessions on specific topics. This year the subjects were Conservation of In-situ Sites and Health and Safety (delegates are encouraged to attend). On the third day there are more workshops: Basic moulding and casting, advanced moulding and casting techniques and materials, consolidant/adhesive topics and various preventive conservation methods. The fourth day is the General Sessions Day, with oral presentations and posters on all aspects of fossil preparation, conservation and collections care. Finally, the main field trip – This year we visited the Ashfall Fossil -Miocene wildlife: Rhinos, horses, camels and other mammals preserved in-situ in their death positions.

Challenging preparation of a plesiosaur skeleton from a stressed nodule

Richard Forrest

plesiosaur.com

Preparation of fossil vertebrates can be a complex and demanding process. Every specimen presents a different suite of challenges. This talk is about the preparation of a partial plesiosaur skeleton in stellarated nodule from Bed 10 of the Oxford Clay, well-known for the number of well-preserved marine reptiles it has yielded over the past two centuries. This was a particularly challenging specimen. The nodule is riddled with veins of calcite, and highly stressed due to overburden pressure and the processes of nodule formation. It fractures unpredictably, sometimes for no apparent direct reason. The parts that break off are usually slightly distorted as their internal stress is released, and don’t fit cleanly to the scar from which they originate. Parts of the nodular material are very pyritic and harder than the bone it contains. A number of different methods were attempted during the preparation, some successful others not. This is not intended as a demonstration on how to prepare such a difficult fossil. It is an account of the highs and lows encountered during the processes and the lessons learned from them. Despite all the problems, preparation has uncovered interesting information on the life history of the animal and its demise.

The air-abrasive technique: re-evaluation of its use in fossil preparation

Mark Graham & Lu Allington-Jones

Natural History Museum, London

In 2017 new experiments were devised to assess the effect of air abrasion on matrix and fossil material using various types of powder across a range of delivery angles and differing air pressure settings. The experiments incorporated for the first time Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) photography and 3-dimensional profiling on matrix coated with consolidant and copper powder to enable visual assessment and also on a piece of fossil bone. The abrasive effect of powder flow at the point of impact and immediately surrounding area on the test matrix, and damage across the surface of the bone fragment were revealed at the electron microscopic level and documented for the first time, together with microscopic comparison of the powder particles before and after use. The review incorporates information taken from the application of airabrasion in the fields of conservation and industry, as these provide valuable insights to the fossil preparator. Also part of the review, an international online survey of preparators was undertaken and 84 individuals from 12 countries contributed information about powder types used, micron particle size selection, the availability and use of equipment, preferred techniques, personal protective clothing and other health and safety related issues. The replies were drawn from professional, avocational and amateur preparators. The results of both the laboratory experiments and the international survey are soon to be published and will include practical advice on materials, techniques, laboratory set-up and health & safety considerations.

Rescuing an Early Cretaceous plesiosaur from an active tar sand mine

Donald Henderson

In June of 2018 the Royal Tyrrell Museum received notice of a fossil reptile being discovered in the Syncrude tarsand mine 25km north of Fort McMurray in northeastern Alberta, Canada. A team of four people from the Museum – one curator and three technicians – were dispatched to recover the specimen. Prior to commencement of work, all four museum staff had to complete an online safety course and complete a final exam with minimum pass score of 80%. Furthermore, one of the technicians had to complete a “mine safe driving course”. The specimen was found as a series of large (50+ kg) irregularly shaped blocks of a once whole concretion with bone exposed on the all broken internal surfaces. The fossil bone was not permineralized, so a penetrant stabilizer was immediately applied to all the exposed bone. Final bone protection was provided with medical grade plaster bandages (“Gypsonas”). Some of the exposed bone and broken edges required full plaster and burlap jacketing for protection during extraction and later transport. With the aid of a tracked excavator, its toothed bucket, and a skilled operator, each of the heavy blocks was wrestled into the bucket, lifted up, and then wrestled into the back of a Museum vehicle. The density and total mass of the concretionary blocks was seriously underestimated, and we found we were 800kg over the gross vehicle weight limit. Five of the offending blocks were shipped south at a later date.

The Biddulph Grange geology gallery project: restoring a unique display from 1862 that encapsulates an important stage in the history of the development of geological thinking

Nigel R. Larkin

natural-history-conservation.com

In 1862 just three years after Darwin published ‘On the Origin of Species’, Oxford-educated James Bateman (of the Royal Society) created a new entrance to his famous gardens at Biddulph Grange, near Stoke. This was a long stone corridor with 75 fossils set into the wall on one side, from graptolites and ferns to ichthyosaurs and a mammoth tusk in rough stratigraphical order. However, they were arranged in six bays titled Day 1 to Day 6 and represented the days of Creation. Bateman’s thinking was directly influenced by Hugh Miller, in particular his theory of Genesis and Geology Compared, and the gallery was designed to show how the newly discovered fossil record could be reconciled with the bible. Although open to the public for several years, unfortunately the gallery became forgotten after Bateman sold his estate and apart from ten original specimens the fossils eventually deteriorated or disappeared. Now a National Trust property, over the last few years the gallery has been renovated. The ten original specimens have been cleaned, conserved and moulded to make casts for reinstating on the wall. With no records of the original gallery to guide us in filling the remaining 65 holes we have borrowed museum specimens of species described by 1862 that are from sites known by that date that are appropriate for their position in the gallery, to be as authentic as possible. Replicas of these were made to complete the gallery which uniquely captures a specific moment in the development of geology.

Using theatre skills in a science exhibition: Dinosaurs of China in Nottingham

Martin Nunn and Adam S. Smith

Nottingham City Museums and Galleries

Dinosaurs of China was a world-exclusive temporary exhibition of iconic, mostly feathered dinosaur fossils, which have revolutionised our understanding of dinosaur appearance and biology over the last 20 years. Hunter the Sinraptor was a puppeteer-operated semianimatronic theropod dinosaur costume. Hunter, accompanied by Dinosaur Rangers, publicised the exhibition within Nottingham and beyond, visited schools to explore dinosaur ecology, and interacted with visitors to the exhibition. The process of putting this element of the exhibition into place included procurement of the costume, ‘Dino-Factor’ auditions to find a skilled puppeteer, and recruitment of volunteer Rangers. Hunter and the Rangers contributed towards exhibition marketing and the public learning experience. There is an extensive body of literature on the value of integrating dramatic arts into schools and museums, and our findings add to this body of evidence. Hunter inspired engagement with science in formal and informal settings. However, the dinosaur had mixed impacts on visitor expectations, with some anticipating animatronics to feature within the exhibition itself. In conclusion, we show that if used with care, theatre and performance skills can boost marketing and enhance scientifically rigorous learning experiences.

From China to Nottingham: the making of Dinosaurs of China

Adam S. Smith¹ and Wang Qi²

1. Nottingham Natural History Museum, Wollaton Hall
2. University of Nottingham

In summer 2017, Nottingham hosted a collection of Chinese fossils that told the story of dinosaur evolution from scaly ground shakers to modern birds. This world-exclusive one-time-only Dinosaurs of China exhibition was the outcome of a multi-partnership between the University of Nottingham, Nottingham City Council, the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology & Paleoanthropology, and the Longhao Institute of Geology and Paleontology Inner Mongolia. The exhibition combined Nottingham-based collections with loaned fossils and casts of Chinese dinosaurs and birds, including real type specimens of feathered dinosaurs (Microraptor guiand Caudipteryx dongi) and the tallest cast of a dinosaur skeleton ever displayed in the UK (a rearing Mamenchisaurus). Many of the specimens were on display outside of Asia for the first time. To bring the dinosaurs to Nottingham, the project team overcame the challenges of designing, curating, transporting, and installing an exhibition in the unusual setting of an Elizabethan mansion. Dinosaurs of China received 115,000 visitors in its four-month duration and has helped to foster the identity of Nottingham, especially Wollaton Hall, as a venue for natural science.