Bristol Dinosaur Project

Last updated

Bristol Dinosaur Project
AbbreviationBDP
Formation2000
PurposePalaeontology Outreach
Headquarters Bristol, UK
Founder
Michael Benton
Engagement Officer
Rhys Charles
Parent organization
University of Bristol

The Bristol Dinosaur Project is a public engagement and educational initiative run by the University of Bristol. It began in 2000, and since then the Bristol Dinosaur Project team has visited hundreds of schools and spoken to tens of thousands of children, as well as appearing at science fairs in Bristol and elsewhere. [1]

Contents

Background

The Bristol dinosaur, Thecodontosaurus antiquus, was found in 1834, and named in 1836, and did not achieve much recognition locally, either at the time of discovery, in the 1830s, nor later, when it was restudied, in the 1870s, 1900s, or 1990s.

Then, after the re-examination of specimens collected in the 1830s, still located in Bristol City Museum and Art Gallery, [2] and the collection of additional specimens from Tytherington quarry, in the 1970s, local paleontologists and geologists realised there was potential to use the newly reinvigorated research programme as a means to include the public, especially local children, in the excitement of scientific discovery.

Funding

Initially, the Bristol Dinosaur Project was funded by the University of Bristol using widening participation funds. These were funds intended to reach out to local schools that did not have a reputation for sending many children to university. By sending students to visit those schools, it was hoped that children might be inspired, work hard, and then later apply to study at university.

The Bristol Dinosaur Project received substantial funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund, and was able to operate at a much more ambitious level, from 2010-2013. After that funding cycle, the University of Bristol continued funding of the project for widening participation purposes.

Engagement

The Bristol Dinosaur Project aims to address children in two age groups: 7 to 9 year-olds and 14 to 15 year-olds. It focuses on teenagers and young adults rather than young children in order to encourage an academic pursuit in this subject.

A recent evaluation report about the Bristol Dinosaur Project by David Owen, summarised the learning and engagement side of the project as follows:

Since May 2010 the project engaged with over 136 schools and more than 13,200 pupils. The majority of these pupils were Key Stage 1-2 (11,000) with the remainder being Key Stage 3-4 (2,000). In total the project delivered 216 day visits to schools, reaching schools across Bristol, North Somerset, South Gloucestershire and Bath and North East Somerset. The project also visited some schools in Somerset, Dorset, Wiltshire, South Wales, Gloucestershire and one in the West Midlands. Interviews confirmed that the project had developed a reputation across the city with teachers, schools and organisations that support schools. This was attributed to the high quality resources and professionalism of the volunteers and staff delivering the workshop. A major part of the schools’ outreach was the development of fossil walks; these were particularly targeted at Key Stage 3-4. Young people had the chance to visit Aust Cliffs, South Gloucestershire or Charmouth, Dorset, to find fossils and discover more about how they formed and what life was like in the past.

In addition to its work with schools, the project team developed a wide range of partnerships with organisations across the city, in order to engage new audiences and hard-to-reach adults and young people with the project. Evidence collected for this report suggested that the partnerships would have lasting impact beyond the HLF funding, and in particular had connected the discovery of the Bristol Dinosaur with the cultural heritage of the city.

In three years the project visited a wide range of annual or one-off public events and festivals including the Bristol Festival of Nature, At-Bristol, the Cheltenham Science Festival, Arnos Vale Cemetery, libraries across South Gloucestershire, and Bristol's City Museum & Art Gallery. The project visited over 30 one-off or annual events in total, with the project team estimating a reach of 18,000 people (children and adults). These figures do not include the 650,000 people who visit the Bristol Zoo each year.

The reach of the Bristol Dinosaur Project was recognised as a successful in capturing new audiences. By building partnerships, the project benefitted from the efforts of other organisations to engage hard-to-reach groups of young people and adults. The project also sought to involve these young people and adults in a more sustained and transformational manner.

In 2018, the Bristol Dinosaur Project was featured in the "Jurassic Make Off" series, a sponsored YouTube collaboration between the Let's Play channels Game Grumps and The Yogscast, where Education Officer Rhys Charles was cast as a competition judge alongside Ben Ebbrell of Sorted Food. [3]

Laboratory work

Laboratory work has always been the key component of the Bristol Dinosaur Project. The 1975 find from Tytherington Quarry consisted of some 4 tonnes of fossiliferous rock, and numerous technical staff and student volunteers have laboured over the years to remove the fossilised bones from the rock.

The HLF funding allowed one side of a new paleontology laboratory to be built at the University of Bristol. This was used for the preparation and curatorial work done with over 4 tonnes of rock containing the remains of Thecodontosaurus and associated micro-fauna. For the first 2 years, the creation and development of a new research collection was one of the main activities in the laboratory. A new volunteering programme was developed at the University, and hundreds of volunteers (University students and external volunteers) worked under the preparator's guidance and supervision in order to process several hundred kilograms of rock by means of acid digestion, mostly using acetic acid. This process, even though very slow and painstaking, delivered results for the project's laboratory and research team: several thousand microfossils were recovered, studied and classified. [4] The implementation of a new summer research programme enabled undergraduate and master students to take part in more advanced research projects, aiming for scientific publication, while developing laboratory and scientific skills.

The second year of the project marked the beginning of curatorial and preparation work. Tonnes of rock were prepared using mechanical or chemical techniques. Thousands of dinosaur bones were extracted and fully curated into a new research collection. Both micro and macrofossil collections are now housed at the University's museum, and are available for further research studies.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thornbury, Gloucestershire</span> Market town in Gloucestershire, England

Thornbury is a market town and civil parish in the South Gloucestershire unitary authority area of England, about 12 mi (19 km) north of Bristol. It had a population of 12,063 at the 2011 census. The population has risen to 14,496 in the 2021 census. Thornbury is a Britain in Bloom award-winning town, with its own competition: Thornbury in Bloom. The earliest documentary evidence of a village at "Thornbyrig" dates from the end of the 9th century. The Domesday Book of 1086 noted a manor of "Turneberie" belonging to William the Conqueror’s consort, Matilda of Flanders, with 104 residents.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">South Gloucestershire</span> Local government district in Gloucestershire, England

South Gloucestershire is a unitary authority area in the ceremonial county of Gloucestershire, South West England. Towns in the area include Yate, Chipping Sodbury, Kingswood, Thornbury, Filton, Patchway and Bradley Stoke. The southern part of its area falls within the Greater Bristol urban area surrounding the city of Bristol.

<i>Thecodontosaurus</i> Extinct genus of dinosaurs

Thecodontosaurus is a genus of herbivorous basal sauropodomorph dinosaur that lived during the late Triassic period.

Agrosaurus is a potentially dubious genus of thecodontosaurid sauropodomorph probably originating from the Magnesian Conglomerate of England that was originally believed to be a Triassic prosauropod from Australia. Agrosaurus would thus be the oldest dinosaur from that country. However, this appears to have been an error, and the material actually appears to come from Thecodontosaurus or a Thecodontosaurus-like animal from Bristol, England. The type species is Agrosaurus macgillivrayi.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael Benton</span> British palaeontologist

Michael James Benton is a British palaeontologist, and professor of vertebrate palaeontology in the School of Earth Sciences at the University of Bristol. His published work has mostly concentrated on the evolution of Triassic reptiles but he has also worked on extinction events and faunal changes in the fossil record.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tytherington Rocks F.C.</span> Association football club in England

Tytherington Rocks F.C. is a football club based in Tytherington, near Thornbury, Gloucestershire, England. The club competes in the Hellenic League Division One and is affiliated to the Gloucestershire County FA.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Churches Conservation Trust</span> Charity to protect historic churches England

The Churches Conservation Trust is a registered charity whose purpose is to protect historic churches at risk in England. The charity cares for over 350 churches of architectural, cultural and historic significance, which have been transferred into its care by the Church of England.

<i>Terrestrisuchus</i> Genus of terrestrial crocodylomorph

Terrestrisuchus is an extinct genus of very small early crocodylomorph that was about 76 centimetres (30 in) long. Fossils have been found in Wales and Southern England and date from near the very end of the Late Triassic during the Rhaetian, and it is known by type and only known species T. gracilis. Terrestrisuchus was a long-legged, active predator that lived entirely on land, unlike modern crocodilians. It inhabited a chain of tropical, low-lying islands that made up southern Britain, along with similarly small-sized dinosaurs and abundant rhynchocephalians. Numerous fossils of Terrestrisuchus are known from fissures in limestone karst which made up the islands it lived on, which formed caverns and sinkholes that preserved the remains of Terrestrisuchus and other island-living reptiles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lapworth Museum of Geology</span> Geological museum in West Midlands, England

The Lapworth Museum of Geology is a geological museum run by the University of Birmingham and located on the university's campus in Edgbaston, south Birmingham, England. The museum is named after the geologist Charles Lapworth, its origins dating back to 1880. It reopened in 2016 following a £2.7 million redevelopment project that created new galleries and displays, as well as modern visitor and educational facilities.

<i>Crystal Palace Dinosaurs</i> 1854 sculpture series in Crystal Palace Park, London, United Kingdom

The Crystal Palace Dinosaurs are a series of sculptures of dinosaurs and other extinct animals, inaccurate by modern standards, in the London borough of Bromley's Crystal Palace Park. Commissioned in 1852 to accompany the Crystal Palace after its move from the Great Exhibition in Hyde Park, they were unveiled in 1854 as the first dinosaur sculptures in the world. The models were designed and sculpted by Benjamin Waterhouse Hawkins under the scientific direction of Sir Richard Owen, representing the latest scientific knowledge at the time. The models, also known as the Geological Court or Dinosaur Court, were classed as Grade II listed buildings from 1973, extensively restored in 2002, and upgraded to Grade I listed in 2007.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stroudwater Navigation</span> Canal in Gloucestershire, England

The Stroudwater Navigation is a canal in Gloucestershire, England which linked Stroud to the River Severn. It was authorised in 1776, although part had already been built, as the proprietors believed that an Act of Parliament obtained in 1730 gave them the necessary powers. Opened in 1779, it was a commercial success, its main cargo being coal. It was 8 miles (13 km) in length and had a rise of 102 ft 5 in (31.22 m) through 12 locks. Following the opening of the Thames and Severn Canal in 1789, it formed part of a through route from Bristol to London, although much of its trade vanished when the Kennet and Avon Canal provided a more direct route in 1810. Despite competition from the railways, the canal continued to pay dividends to shareholders until 1922, and was not finally abandoned until 1954.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thecodontosauridae</span> Extinct family of dinosaurs

Thecodontosauridae is a family of basal sauropodomorph dinosaurs that are part of the Bagualosauria, known from fossil remains found exclusively in the Magnesian Conglomerate of Bristol, England, which dates back to the Rhaetian stage of the Late Triassic. Two genera are known: Agrosaurus and Thecodontosaurus; the former is often considered to be the same animal as the latter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Magnesian Conglomerate</span>

The Magnesian Conglomerate is a geological formation in Clifton, Bristol in England, Gloucestershire and southern Wales, present in Tytherington, Durdham Down, Slickstones Quarry and Cromhall Quarry.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dinosaur Ridge</span> Natural heritage site in Colorado, United States

Dinosaur Ridge is a segment of the Dakota Hogback in the Morrison Fossil Area National Natural Landmark located in Jefferson County, Colorado, near the town of Morrison and just west of Denver.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Whitby Mudstone</span> Geological formation in Yorkshire, UK

The Whitby Mudstone is a Toarcian geological formation in Yorkshire and Worcestershire, England. The formation, part of the Lias Group, is present in the Cleveland and Worcester Basins and the East Midlands Shelf.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Museum of Paleontology Egidio Feruglio</span> Museum in Trelew, Patagonia, Argentina

The Museum of Paleontology Egidio Feruglio is a science research and exhibition center in Trelew city, Patagonia, Argentina. Its permanent and travelling exhibitions focus on the fossil remains of fauna and flora of Patagonia, and the changes that affected the region over geological time. The museum is named for geologist Egidio Feruglio.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Off the Record (charity)</span> UK mental health charity

Off The Record Bristol (OTR) is a mental health support and information service in Bristol which provides counselling, group workshops, anti-stigma campaigns, creative therapies, LGBTQ+ networks and support, stress management workshops and community-based support groups for young people. OTR works across Bristol and South Gloucestershire and is free at every point of access.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">R. J. G. Savage</span> British palaeontologist (1927–1998)

Robert Joseph Gay Savage was a British palaeontologist known as Britain's leading expert on fossil mammals. He worked at the University of Bristol for nearly 40 years and studied fossils around the world, especially in North and East Africa. He produced the 1986 popular science book Mammal Evolution: An Illustrated Guide and co-edited several technical books in the Fossil Vertebrates of Africa series with fellow palaeontologist Louis Leakey.

The Avon Fissure Fill, also known as the Bristol Fissure Fill or Tytherington Fissure Fill, is a fissure fill in Avon, England which dates variously from the Norian and Rhaetian stages of the Late Triassic, or possibly as late as the Hettangian stage of the Early Jurassic. The fissure fill at Avon was a sinkhole formed by the dissolution of Lower Carboniferous limestones.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Henry Riley (scientist)</span> British surgeon, anatomist, naturalist, geologist and paleontologist

Henry Riley (1797–1848) was a British surgeon, anatomist, naturalist, geologist and paleontologist. He is notable for being the co-discoverer and co-describer of the archosaur Palaeosaurus and the dinosaur Thecodontosaurus.

References

  1. Benton, Michael J.; Schouten, Remmert; Drewitt, Edward J.A.; Viegas, Pedro (5 August 2011). "The Bristol Dinosaur Project" (PDF). Proceedings of the Geologists' Association . 123 (2): 210–225. doi:10.1016/j.pgeola.2011.07.004 via University of Bristol.
  2. Benton, M. J.; Juul, L.; Storrs, G.W.; Galton, P. M. (2000). "Anatomy and systematics of the prosauropod dinosaur Thecodontosaurus antiquus from the Upper Triassic of southwest England". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology . 20 (1): 77–108. doi:10.1671/0272-4634(2000)020[0077:AASOTP]2.0.CO;2.
  3. Grumps, Game (30 July 2018). "Jurassic Make Off - Part One" via YouTube.
  4. Van den Berg, T.; Whiteside, D. I.; Viegas, P.; Schouten, R.; Benton, M. J. (2012). "The Late Triassic microvertebrate fauna of Tytherington, UK". Proceedings of the Geologists' Association . 123 (4): 638–648. doi:10.1016/j.pgeola.2012.05.003.