80,000-year-old mastodon star of newest exhibit at Halifax's Museum of Natural History
A new exhibit that is larger than humankind is making its way to the Museum of Natural History in Halifax.
"Age of the Mastodon" opens to the public on Saturday and is sure to have you looking up – way up.
"I think for many visitors who come to the exhibit, they're going to see the cast of the mastodon – a full-size cast made in Trenton, Ont., and brought here to the museum," said Jeff Gray, the curator of visitor experience and exhibits at the Museum of Natural History. "But there's so much more to see in this exhibit."
Pictured above is a mastodon skull that is featured in the Museum of Natural History's Age of the Mastodon exhibit. (SOURCE: Museum of Natural History)
The exhibit will feature a number of mastodon artifacts that were found in Nova Scotia, including some never-before-seen 80,000-year-old mastodon bones.
It also tells stories about the giant mammals, including what it was like when they were alive, what Nova Scotia was like during that time, and some of the factors that led to the demise of them.
Pictured above are mastodon teeth that are featured in the Museum of Natural History's Age of the Mastodon exhibit. (SOURCE: Museum of Natural History)
Gray says the bones were discovered three decades ago in the Milford Gypsum Quarry. Since then, they have been safely stored away at the museum, available only to researchers.
"The Nova Scotia Museum got a phone call from the National Gypsum Quarry where they had just found some tusks and large bones while they were cleaning out an ancient sinkhole near Milford," explained Gray.
"So that was 30 years ago that the museum started a large project and worked for multiple months – about eight or nine months – to collect and preserve the bones of this 80,000-year-old mastodon."
Pictured above is a mastodon spine that will be featured in the Museum of Natural History's Age of the Mastodon exhibit. (SOURCE: Museum of Natural History)
Also featured in the exhibit are items from the "Mastodon Mud Project" – where four tonnes of mud from the Milford mastodon dig were sent to 300 Nova Scotia schools.
Students were then tasked with going through the debris, where they found small specimens, including a rare, soft-body painted turtle hatchling, which is now at the Nova Scotia Museum.
Pictured above is the rare, soft-body painted turtle hatching, discovered by a student during the Mastodon Mud Project. (SOURCE: Nova Scotia Museum)
"All of that material was examined by students all over the province; they picked out all the small shells and all the little bits of bones and spruce cones," said Gray. "And some of those really exceptional fossils are on display as part of this exhibit."
The "Age of the Mastodon" exhibit is not only for those in the Halifax area, it will also be travelling around Nova Scotia.
"Both in the full form that you see here in Halifax... but also, we are working on developing some smaller mastodon exhibits that get shared to smaller communities that don't often have the opportunity to see something as great as Age of the Mastodon," said Gray.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
DEVELOPING Live updates as Stormy Daniels testifies at Trump hush money trial
Adult film star Stormy Daniels will take the stand a second time Thursday as former U.S. president Donald Trump’s hush money case continues in Manhattan. Follow live updates here.
BREAKING Sheldon Keefe out as head coach of Toronto Maple Leafs
The Toronto Maple Leafs have fired head coach Sheldon Keefe. The team made the announcement Thursday after the Original Six franchise lost to the Boston Bruins in seven games in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs.
Bank of Canada says financial system is stable, but risks remain
The Bank of Canada says the Canadian financial system is stable, but risks remain due to debt servicing costs among households and businesses and stretched valuations of financial assets.
Why these immigrants to Canada say they're thinking about leaving, or have already moved on
For some immigrants, their dreams of permanently settling in Canada have taken an unexpected twist.
Here are the ultraprocessed foods you most need to avoid, according to a 30-year study
Studies have shown that ultraprocessed foods can have a detrimental impact on health. But 30 years of research show they don’t all have the same impact.
Ontario man frustrated after $3,500 paving job leaves driveway in shambles
An Ontario man considering having his driveway paved received a quote from a company for $7,000, but then, another paver in the neighbourhood knocked on his door and offered half that rate.
RateMDs violates privacy of health professionals, class-action lawsuit claims
A lawsuit against RateMDs has been given the go-ahead by a B.C. Supreme Court judge who found the claim that the website violates the privacy rights of medical professionals is not 'bound to fail.'
Capital gains tax change 'shortsighted' and 'sows division' business groups tell Freeland
Forging ahead with increasing Canada's capital gains inclusion rate 'sows division,' and is a 'shortsighted' way to improve the deficit, business groups are warning Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland.
Court to hear about search for remains as Winnipeg murder trial enters second day
A courtroom in Winnipeg is expected to hear testimony today about the search for the remains of the four victims of Jeremy Skibicki.