AggieFunded – Paleontology Lab

The Prehistoric Museum at Utah State University Eastern in Price is launching an AggieFunded campaign to renovate the Fossil Preparation Lab in the Hall of Paleontology. The lab is used by staff, students, and volunteers to prepare fossils collected by museum crews in the field for exhibition, scientific research, and long-term care in the collections facility. The fossil prep lab is a popular feature of the Prehistoric Museum, as visitors get to watch science in action within the exhibits!

The lab currently lacks some of the basic features of other fossil preparation labs that would greatly improve safety and enhance the utilization of the limited space. The lab will be renovated in three phases, outlined below. Even small donations to this campaign will help the museum purchase individual components to these phased improvements and will collectively build towards a safer, more usable space.

The mission of the Prehistoric Museum is to create an understanding and appreciation of natural and cultural processes that formed the paleontological, geological, and archaeological records found in eastern Utah. It is one of six museums in the state – and the only one in rural Utah – to be accredited by the Americal Alliance of Museums. Students that work in the museum’s paleontology lab range from geology graduate students based at the USU Logan campus, to undergraduates at USU Eastern, and even local middle and high schoolers with 4-H and Science Moab! The paleontology program also welcomes volunteers from all backgrounds to work in the museum’s lab, collections, and in the field. Donating to this initiative not only supports groundbreaking research but also promotes opportunities to involve students and rural Utahns in the scientific process.