Fossil Preparation & Restoration - Research Casting International

The Yale Peabody Museum Renovations

In March of 2020 The Yale Peabody Museum was closed to the public, allowing for the building of new conservation, classrooms and collection areas, and the addition of 50% more gallery space. The Yale Peabody Museum, is set to reopen in 2024 after its major renovations. The Yale University announced a $160 million gift to renovate the Peabody Museum and over the summer of 2023.The expansion provides additional space for the Peabody’s collection of 14 million objects, fossils, meteorites, and anthropological artifacts, as well as new research spaces, classrooms equipped with the latest audio-visual technology, and a new education center for K-12 students. Our Skeleton Crew had to remount and re-pose a lot of different specimens including:

The first Brontosaurs (meaning “thunder lizard”) ever discovered at the Yale Peabody Museum. The steel frame for Brontosaurus has been re-installed in the BURKE HALL OF DINOSAURS and adorned with the sauropod’s massive pelvis, leg bones, and dorsal vertebrae. Each individual fossil is supported by its own, independent armature. The look of Brontosaurus has changed dramatically since it was last on display in 2019. Its pose and posture have been updated to reflect the latest paleontological research and its tail is significantly longer.

The Archelon ischyros skeleton was also in need of refurbishing and remounting. It is considered to be the largest turtle to ever exist. This colossal sea creature bore gear-shaped bones, functioning as stomach bone plates that defended against threats from below. Interestingly, the skeleton displays a missing right lower flipper, with evidence suggesting this was due to an incident in its early life.

The Irish elk (Megaloceros giganteus) was reinstalled in a pose that brings its massive antlers, spanning nearly ten feet across, down to eye level. This charging posture will allow visitors to appreciate both the scale of its most recognizable feature and the robust neck vertebrae that supported it.

The Otisville Mastodon, which is roughly 11,000 years old and over ten feet tall, has returned to the Peabody after more than three years in Canada being cleaned, prepared, and remounted.

This was a very long project, and the final timeline of the job took over 3 full years. but in January of 2023, the new exhibitions begin to take shape as specimens and artifacts were installed into their new galleries. Our skeleton crew had to refurbish, remount and repose several of the Peabody’s historic skeletons as the museum’s building undergoes a transformative renovation. When the Peabody reopens in March 26 2024, visitors will see the fossils positioned in more dynamic and scientifically accurate poses. “I am delighted to see the Yale Peabody Museum open after undergoing a comprehensive renovation that makes it better able to serve members of the Yale community, K-12 students from our home city, and visitors from the region and beyond,” said Yale President Peter Salovey.

Click here to learn more:

Yales iconic dinosaurs get a new look
Yale Peabody to reopen march 26
Yale Peabody (Deer oh deer)
About Renovation
Youtube: Journey of the Peabody Fossils

Cincinnati Museum Center

RCI was contracted to prepare, mount, and install three large sauropod specimens for display at the Rhinegeist Brewery and the Dinosaur Hall at the Cincinnati Museum Center. We prepared, conserved, and fabricated custom external armatures for a Galeamopus, juvenile Diplodocus, and an Apatosaurus. The Galeamopus went on temporary display at Rhinegeist Brewery and then was packed and relocated to the museum. The museum only had the cervical vertebrae of the Apatosaurus, as such, we fabricated a steel frame to demonstrate the rest of the specimen’s skeleton.

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Zuul crurivastator

In 2016, the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) purchased a recently discovered fossil specimen of a new ankylosaurus species from the Campanian Judith River Formation of Montana. Zuul crurivastator had not yet been described and remained in large jacketed blocks. The ROM did not have the capability to fully prepare the main block, weighing 37,000 lbs. due to its size, weight, and amount of fossil preparation required. RCI was contracted to prepare the main block for display. We uncovered the majority of the skeleton’s main body on one side. We then flipped the block over and prepared out the other side, unveiling a nearly complete keratin impression of its armour, spikes, and some skin. Our trained preparation team allowed us to prepare this specimen within a very tight deadline without compromising any of the fossil’s integrity. Additionally, our expertise with heavy machinery and mounting allowed us to handle such a large piece and create a secure and stable mount for display.

When we began preparation, It was unclear exactly how much fossil was in the matrix block. Early investigation hinted at a substantial amount of skeletal and skin fossilization. Main preparation began in February 2018 with the goal to have the fossil on display by mid-December 2018. The ROM additionally wanted scans and molds prepared in the hope of developing a traveling show. The skeletal side was prepared out and it was molded. There was still a substantial amount of rock underneath. The weight and size of the block exceeded the maximum capabilities of the building and gallery at the ROM.

We calculated an estimated area where excess matrix existed. We fabricated a steel structure and home-built rope saw to cut a substantial amount of matrix away from the bottom. Once completed, the block needed to be jacketed and flipped over. We installed a crane overtop the block and used chain falls to flip the block, which weighed 15,000 lbs. at the time. Preparation then began on the other side.

This side revealed an amazing fossilized skin surface. RCI preparators finished the block for display reducing the size and weight to make it possible to bring the specimen in the museum space. We took a mold of this side of the block and we fabricated an armature to move and display the specimen. The zuul exhibit was a huge success. The fossil has since been brought back to RCI for temporary storage.

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Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History Fossil Hall

In 2014, the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History awarded RCI with a multi-faceted, 5-year project to redevelop the National Fossil Hall. RCI recently completed this project, which included the conservation, cleaning, and re-mounting of over 50 specimens. The Smithsonian has entrusted us with conserving and preserving the specimens on site here in Trenton. It is something the Smithsonian does not typically allow. What makes this possible is our museum-grade storage facilities with climate control, upgraded security, skilled technicians, and conservation lab.

Deep Time opened to the public in June 2019. The 5-year overhaul was a huge undertaking. We worked on the majority of the Smithsonian’s dinosaur and prehistoric mammal collections. Some of the specimens include MOR 555 (the Nation’s T-Rex) in a dynamic pose chomping on the head of a Triceratops. We also worked on a Tylosaurus, Diplodocus, Camarasaurus, Stegosaurus, Xiphactinus, Edmontosaurus, Mastodon, Mammoth, Eremotherium, Thescelosaurus, Allosaurus and many more. Many of the specimens were freed from plaster mounts, others still had matrix on them.

The first skeleton we completed was arguably the star of the collection: the 66 million-year-old; 10:5 metre-long Tyrannosaurus rex “Nation’s T-rex.” This specimen is one of the most complete T-rex skeletons ever discovered, with 130 original bones, it still required the casting of an additional 96 bones, including the skull, which was too fragile to exhibit. Fossils and casts are all held together by more than 1,000 feet of steel that pushes the total weight beyond 4,000 pounds – close to 2 tons.

Working with priceless fossils, such as the T-Rex, involves meticulous care and attention. First, we cleaned and consolidated the fossil material, systematically going through each element, making sure there aren’t any cracks that could give out as the individual elements are being handled. Once the prep work was completed, the skeleton was pieced together beginning with the hips, followed by the vertebrae leading up towards the neck, the tail, ribs, arms and the hind feet.

If the skeletons of this exhibit were casts, then their supporting armatures could be hidden within their bones. But Fossil bones are heavier than casts and can be very brittle. We implemented a cradle system that is both delicate and strong. The toughest challenge is bending the steel accurately onto the original fossil material. This project offered our blacksmith and metalworking team the opportunity to show their technical expertise. One of the additional requirements was that to facilitate ongoing scientific examination, the steel armatures needed to allow specific bones, such as the arms, to be easily removed without dissembling the entire mount.

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