MSU Donates Fossils to Replace Burned Collection

The recent Bridge Canyon fire destroyed the Mendelsohn home near Bozeman earlier this month. The folks at Montana State University's Earth Sciences Department read that 13-year-old Adam Mendelsohn lost his fairly large collection of fossils in the blaze. He had hundreds of fossils and petrified wood, some fossils even from his back yard in Bridger Creek. Assistant professor Andrew Laskowski wanted to help. He and others in the department put together a package of fossils to help Adam get his collection underway again. It included a T. rex tooth and a Deinonychus claw from the Museum of the Rockies. In fact, it was in that Bozeman museum 7 years ago, after touring with his grandparents, that Adam was motivated to start collecting fossils.

Laskowski told Adam at the Wednesday presentation, "I hope this helps you out with the loss of your own fossils. I know when you collect your own it's probably more valuable than getting gifted specimens, but we really wanted to help rebuild your collection and keep you on that track." And, Meaghan MacDonald-Pool wrote in an MSU news release that Adam has expressed a possible interest in a paleontology career.