“Big Sam” finds a new home at the Philip J. Currie Dinosaur Museum

Bamforth said her team of paleontologists were fantastic throughout this project, as they faced numerous challenges with extracting the large skull.

It first started last summer when the team was tasked with trying to clear out a densely packed bone-bed to get to the fossil.

That was then followed by the paleontologist team having to flip the fossil over and prepare it for transportation on-site, before walking it down the Pipestone Creek paths and back to the trailer.

The team received help from the Philip J. Currie community; ” We had some of our other staff members, our education people, our programs people out there with us. Our executive director was out there. Members of the board came out and wanted to roll up their sleeves and get in there and help us.”

“That was just such an amazing thing to happen, it’s pretty rare to see the board out there (helping extract the fossil). Some of them were in suits, and were just willing to get in there and help out.”

Loading the Fossil (CC: EGP Staff)

Loading the fossil (CC: EGP Staff)

The extraction was also marked with many local connections, as the scientific name for this dinosaur, Pachyrhinosaurus Lakustai, was named after the famed Grande Prairie junior high school science teacher Al Lakusta. He was responsible for finding the first bones in the Pipestone Creek bed.

Bamforth said the trail and bridge they used to exit the site were also dedicated to two local dinosaur enthusiasts, ” Roy Bickell was a philanthropist, and he did a lot of work for Grande Prairie. He was a huge amateur paleontologist and advocate, so he went out and collected a whole bunch of stuff. We actually have some of his collection in our museum, and he provided some of the money to have that bridge built, called the Bickell Bridge.”

Crossing the Bickell Bridge (CC: EGP Staff)

Photo Courtesy EGP Staff

“The path is called the Powell Path, named by another person who gave money to make that site more accessible to the public.”

On the Powell Path (CC: EGP Staff)

Photo Courtesy EGP Staff

Bamforth added the Pachyrhinosaurus is also an endemic species and is only found in the Peace region.

Pachyrhinosaurus (CC: EGP Staff)

“Big Sam” is now back at the lab in the Philip J. Currie Dinosaur Museum, so any visitors can watch the fossil be prepared from the lab viewing platform, before ‘Big Sam’ makes his gallery debut. That is expected to take place in a year.

Photo Courtesy EGP Staff