Dinosaurs headed to Malta museum

 Dinosaur sculptures once displayed in Columbia Falls and Plains are heading for a new home in Malta.

The four dinosaurs were removed Dec. 30 from their most recent home at a former mini-golf/go-cart fun park in Plains. They’re destined for the Great Plains Dinosaur Museum in Malta, which had been searching for life-like dinosaurs to adorn the museum’s front yard.

That quest began when the Malta museum opened in 2008, according to a news release from the museum.

These dinosaurs are typically fiberglass and expensive, so the dream seemed out of reach until 2012 when the museum staff learned of four outdoor dinosaurs for sale in Plains at Piccadilly Park that had gone out of business.

The large dinosaurs — one is 26 feet long and nearly 8 feet tall — were “the stars” at Piccadilly Park, according to Jody Saunders who owned the park from 2004-11 with her husband, Peter.

Before 2004, the dinosaurs had been on display at the Valley Fun Center in Columbia Falls.  

The origin of the sculptures is unknown as well as the artist. Each dinosaur represents a species of dinosaur already displayed inside the Great Plains Dinosaur Museum. In 2013 the museum received a Tourism Infrastructure Investment Program grant from the Montana Department of Commerce Tourism Division to offset the costs of purchasing, transporting, restoring and installing the dinosaurs in Malta.

Saunders is happy to have a new home for the dinosaurs. “I’m so glad they’re going to have new life and be taken care of again,” she said.

Carolyn Schmoeckel, president of the nonprofit Great Plains Dinosaur Museum, said she can’t wait to see the dinosaurs standing outside the museum in the spring.

“We’re very excited to finally have these dinosaurs here in Malta in the museum’s front yard. They will add so much to the entrance.” The official debut of the dinosaurs will be June 7 during the museum’s annual Montana Dinosaur Festival.  

Dave Trexler, paleontologist at the Two Medicine Dinosaur Center in Bynum, is glad to see the dinosaur sculptures restored and staying in the state, despite some inaccuracies in their anatomical features.

“Dinosaurs have had a long history in Montana,” Trexler said. “It’s nice to see that, while our concept of actual body structures, types of dinosaurs and other aspects of our understanding have changed, that we continue to recognize the historical value as well as the science concerning dinosaurs. These dinosaurs and others like them sparked the interest of those who now work so diligently to understand these fascinating animals and their prehistoric world.”  

Moving the dinosaurs took careful planning.

Volunteers helped Sue Frary, director of programs and exhibits at the museum, cut the dinosaurs from their bases, then a crane from R.T.I. Fabrication in Plains picked them up. They will be stored temporarily at R.T.I. Fabrication until being shipped this winter.

“The help we’ve gotten from the people of Plains has been so great. It’s going to be a real honor to have their dinosaurs in front of our museum to greet visitors. It’s a perfect match,” Frary said.  

Log on to www.greatplainsdinosaurs.org for more information on the Great Plains Dinosaur Museum.