Orton Geological Museum’s treasure trove of rocks, minerals and fossils supports research, teaching and outreach. All it needs now is a dinosaur.

March 1 kicks off Orton Geological Museum’s month-long campaign to raise $80,000 to erect a dinosaur in the lobby of Orton Hall. And not just any dinosaur: a skeleton of Cryolophosaurus ellioti, discovered by and named in honor of David Elliot, professor emeritus of geology at Ohio State. Found in Antarctica, it is the most complete dinosaur known from that continent and will highlight Ohio State’s long history of research in the polar regions. 

About Orton Museum: Build It and They Will Come

Founded in 1893 by Edward Orton, Ohio State’s first president, Orton Geological Museum is the university’s oldest, free, public museum. The museum’s 54,000 numbered specimens are visited by scholars worldwide. Orton also serves as the official repository of the geological history of the state of Ohio.

The museum is the standard-bearer of Ohio State’s land-grant mission of research, teaching and outreach. Its displays and collections are a vital part of many university courses, and they delight and educate nearly 20,000 children of all ages annually.

There’s a saying around Orton Museum that “every three-year old is a paleontologist.” Anecdotal evidence suggests that this really is the “gateway to science” for future generations.

After all, what could be cooler than being greeted by “Jeff,” the looming, 7-foot partial skeleton of the extinct ground sloth Megalonyx jeffersonii or peeking into the black-draped booth with its glowing “neon” rocks? Maybe, holding a hunk of petrified dinosaur “poop?”

What could top that?

Only a cast skeleton of Cryolophosaurus ellioti.

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