museums in london How Are Dinosaur Fossils Prepared in the Laboratory?

Fossil preparators are highly skilled technicians who restore the naturally fractured bones and teeth of fossil to the original state, somewhat like art conservators restore damaged paintings and sculptures.

When fossils arrive from the field, they are encased in plaster jackets, and the rock, or matrix, which was deposited around the fossils. Fossil preparation involves cutting open the plaster jacket and removing this matrix surrounding the fossil. The matrix may be soft and crumbly, when the sand or mud is poorly cemented together, or it can be extremely hard, when the sediments are well cemented. Accordingly, a wide variety of tools is required to remove the matrix and stabilize the fossil. Commonly, dental tools are used to carefully pick away sediment near the bone, along with custom-made needles composed of carbide steel. Formerly, chisels and hammers were used to remove blocks of matrix further away from the bone, but recently, smaller mechanical tools have taken their place. These include small grinding wheels, miniature jackhammers called air scribes, and tiny sand-blasters, all powered by compressed air.

When using these tools, the work is often conducted while peering through a precision microscope under high-quality lighting to make sure delicate features on the fossils are not damaged. Preparators carefully select the materials used to strengthen or repair specimens. Adhesives, glues, and fillers must stand the test of time and not become brittle or discolored, just like the materials used to conserve works of art. The types of materials used are recorded in order to aid future preparators if further preparation or repair is required.

This video is part of a series, "Dinosaurs Explained," produced by the American Museum of Natural History. In the series, Museum paleontologists answer the most frequently asked questions about dinosaurs.

To watch the videos, go to www.amnh.org/explore/amnh-tv. Click on the "Dinosaurs Explained" Tab on the left side of the page. In the playlist, start with the first question and play each video consecutively for a mini-course in dinosaur fossils.

Episode 1: What Is and Is Not a Dinosaur?
http://youtu.be/Me8BrHY57JI

Episode 2: Who Discovered the First Dinosaur Fossils?
http://youtu.be/FbPGrB-BmH0

Episode 3: How Do Dinosaurs Get Their Names?
http://youtu.be/Wrdmw_Ioovk

Episode 4: Are Any Dinosaurs Still Alive Today?
http://youtu.be/947j2zXm8WA

Episode 5: How Many Kinds of Dinosaurs Are There?
http://youtu.be/xdGe2tMdjxs

Episode 6: Where in the World Did Dinosaurs Live?
http://youtu.be/0lGXGz_lALM

Episode 7: What Is the Earliest-Known Dinosaur?
http://youtu.be/62LK_Ny905o

Episode 8: What Were the Biggest and Smallest Dinosaurs?
http://youtu.be/Icp9eIVMBwU

Episode 9: What Did Dinosaurs Eat?
http://youtu.be/dYrNWPyLtlI

Episode 10: How Fast Were Dinosaurs?
http://youtu.be/GKsygFxt4XI

Episode 11: How Intelligent were Dinosaurs?
http://youtu.be/pXFHtwVQxqk

Episode 12: Did Dinosaurs Fight?
http://youtu.be/hiqlCBH-5C0

Episode 13: How Did Dinosaurs Reproduce?
http://youtu.be/Kp4Dg8XBeUA

Episode 14: Did Dinosaurs Travel in Herds or Packs?
http://youtu.be/jtbpusl0Vo0

Episode 15: What Was Dinosaur Skin Like?
http://youtu.be/6i3EmBNYptk

Episode 16: How Fast Did Dinosaurs Grow, and How Long Did They Live?
http://youtu.be/KyUptMWcmZI

Episode 17: What Color Were Extinct Dinosaurs?
http://youtu.be/bN7XTFlxPTI

Episode 18: Were Dinosaurs Warm-Blooded?
http://youtu.be/oy8Kvt1vOto

Episode 19: How Did All Dinosaurs Except Birds Go Extinct?
http://youtu.be/mCKeogDioWE

Episode 20: Can We Clone Extinct Dinosaurs From DNA Preserved in Their Fossils?
http://youtu.be/H1E_Nwj2dro

Episode 21: What Is a Fossil?
http://youtu.be/WWHJqnfmhQ8

Episode 22: How Do We Know Where to Look for Dinosaur Fossils?
http://youtu.be/XQRZqG7wCPQ

Episode 23: How Are Dinosaur Fossils Discovered and Collected?
http://youtu.be/rYjs8Wtfnzo

Episode 24: How Are Dinosaur Fossils Prepared in the Laboratory?
http://youtu.be/6brUGBR6ll0

Episode 25: How are skeletal mounts of dinosaurs in museum exhibits built?
http://youtu.be/FZNq4SgUqgE

Episode 26: Where are all the dinosaur fossils kept once they're prepared?
http://youtu.be/r8ENj3lTTWk

Episode 27: How Do We Know Which Kind of Dinosaurs Were Most Closely Related?
http://youtu.be/3gNw_6DoVc8

Episode 28: How do we know how long ago dinosaurs lived?
http://youtu.be/6pYPqtdTnrM

Episode 29: In what kind of environments did dinosaurs live?
http://youtu.be/62Z-iSwh3i4

Episode 30: How does studying dinosaurs benefit humanity?
http://youtu.be/vGzVaprEbqs

***
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museums in london How Are Dinosaur Fossils Prepared in the Laboratory?
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