Paleontology
Learn from paleontologists
The paleontology program is co-led by Prof. Thomas Carr, assistant professor of biology, and Dr. Megan Seitz, preparator of the Carthage Institute of Paleontology (CIP). Prof. Carr is a vertebrate paleontologist (studys fossils of animals with backbones) and a recognized expert on tyrannosaurid dinosaurs. Dr. Seitz is a paleontologist who trains students in lab techniques on authentic dinosaur fossils.
Prof. Carr is also the senior scientific advisor for the Dinosaur Discovery Museum (DDM) in downtown Kenosha, which houses the CIP run by Dr. Seitz. A noted professional researcher on dinosaurs, Prof. Carr has been featured on the National Geographic Channel, in popular publications, and as curator for museum exhibits, including the “Feathered Dinosaur” exhibit at the Royal Ontario Museum. Dr. Seitz has co-led the field expeditions since 2011, and she has trained numerous students and citizen scientists in the lab and field.” Dr. Seitz runs the lab housed in the DDM.
COLLECT THE BONES OF DINOSAURS SUCH AS T. REX & TRICERATOPS
The CIP leads a month-long dinosaur-hunting expedition to southeastern Montana led by Prof. Carr and Dr. Seitz. Carthage students have the opportunity to discover and collect in the Hell Creek Formation, a unit of rock deposited in Montana and adjacent states at the end of the age of dinosaurs. The expeditions take place on public lands overseen by the Bureau of Land Management.
Since the expedition started, the crews of Prof. Carr and Dr. Seitz have located dozens of dinosaur skeletons. So far, they have cataloged 110,000 fossils that include teeth, bones, and scales of dinosaurs, crocs, turtles, fish, birds, and mammals. The dinosaurs include rare juvenile Triceratops and T. rex. Bones collected during the expedition are brought back to the CIP, where the fossils are prepared and conserved by Dr. Seitz, student volunteers, and citizen scientists. The fossils are stored in the permanent collections of the DDM, which is a federal repository for paleontological resources.