TRANSPORTING
the gigantic dinosaur
bones from the dig site to the museum lab was the team’s next big job. In the same way that doctors wrap a broken arm or leg with plaster bandages, paleontologists wrap dinosaur bones with plaster and burlap bandages to keep them protected. But there is one di ! erence— doctors use one or two pounds of plaster, and paleontologists use hundreds of pounds of plaster for one giant dinosaur bone! Enclosing the bone in a hard plaster jacket enables the scientists to move the fossil bone to the museum lab without it su ! ering any damage.
With over 100 bones to cover in plaster, the team began to run out of supplies. Diego also wanted to make one giant jacket for the hip and tail bones, but that cast alone would weigh over a ton! The team would need a crane to lift it. They would also need to build a new road to get the crane and the ! atbed truck to the site for loading; the existing narrow dirt road wasn’t big enough. There was one more problem: Winter was coming. Freezing nights, cold days, rain, even snowfall would put the fragile dinosaur bones at risk. They had to " nish the dig before it came!
20
Made with FlippingBook - Online catalogs