The Wiren Apatosaurus femur is on exhibit in the Moab Museum
October 19, 2021
The last time we saw the sauropod femur that Paige Wiren discovered sticking out of a riverbank, it had been moved into the prep lab at the Moab Museum, with the idea that it would eventually go on exhibit as a touch specimen for the public to enjoy and be inspired by. That has come to pass.
I was in Moab last month with Drs. Jessie Atterholt and Thierra Nalley and we stopped in the Moab Museum to digitize some vertebrae from SUSA 515, an unusual specimen of Camarasaurus that I’ve blogged about before, and will definitely blog about again. While we were there, we got to see and touch the Wiren femur. The museum folks told us that femur has been the first dinosaur bone that a lot of schoolkids and tourists have seen up close, or gotten to touch. As a former dinosaur-obsessed kid who never stopped being excited about touching real dinosaur bones–and as one of the lucky folks that got to rescue this particular fossil from erosion or poaching–that pleases me deeply.
So, obviously, you should go see this thing. And the rest of the museum–as you can see from the photos above, the whole place has been renovated, and there are lots of interesting fossils from central and eastern Utah on display, not to mention loads of historical artifacts, all nicely presented in a clean, open, well-lit space that invites exploration. Go have fun!
Sauropod Vertebra Picture of the Week 
October 19, 2021 at 10:42 pm
[…] volunteers and exhibit staff at the Museum of Moab, and eventually it will go on public display. [Update, 19 October 2021: it is now on display!] Thousands of people will get to see and learn from this specimen because Paige Wiren made the right […]
October 20, 2021 at 4:17 pm
Noted how small this femur is. Have you correlated any growth rings that may exist in it? Interesting too of the potential for medullary tissue. Yes Im aware of medullary tissue being specific to females – ovulating (?) and egg bearing (pregnant).
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