Canadian Fossil Discovery Centre
The following three projects are reported here;
2. Education Video - "Diggin Fossils"
3. Digitization of the Fossil Collection
Fossil rock Songs
The plan was for the multiple award winning family "edu-tainers", LuLu and the TomCat (a.k.a. Tom & Lori Neufeld) to create four fossil songs. They were so enthused with the subject matter that they ended up producing 14 songs and a full CD. The CD is now included in the education kits. Here is some information about the CD and the songs.
Do you like fossils, dinosaurs and marine reptiles?
How about mosasaurs, plesiosaurs and T-Rex's?
Sing and dance along to the "rockiest" CD you have heard...
LuLu and the TomCat have written a bag full of
cool tunes that will "edu-tain" you and have you
rockin' to the fossils!
The CD "Fossil Rock" is interactive, interesting, educational, inspiring, thought provoking, and encourages "FOSSIL FUN."
The songs are about Mesozoic and Cretaceous dinosaurs, flying reptiles and marine reptiles. Most of these 
creatures were "rockin'" in the area of the Western Interior Seaway and its shores!
You may listen to samples of all of these songs at http://cdbaby.com/cd/lulutomcat4 They are also available from iTunes, Napster and many other online sources.
- Fossil Rock (3:32) : Interactive, dance and actions song that features flying, swimming and walking dinosaurs. Stomp, chomp and rock your way through this dancing tune.
- Wateryougonnado (2:29) : Bouncy tongue twisters with a twist. Take the challenge and wrap your tongue around these prehistoric words.
- Do the Dig! (2:00) : These steps to going on a dig will inspire young fossil hunters to visit the Pembina Hills.
- La cucaracha (2:24) : Dance the conga with the cockroach (cucaracha) and her dinosaur friends. This is a fun introduction to the world's oldest fossils.
- The Fossil Alphabet (2:59) : Sing about fossils from A - Z! The 26 fossils in this song teach fun facts in rhyme.
- The World of Dinosaurs (3:02) : This catchy chain song will have children singing and dancing along. Add the gestures and the fun will never end.
- I Want to Be a Plesiosaur (2:37) : Ride the waves with the greatest swimmer of all time! This descriptive action song helps younger children to identify with plesiosaurs and marine reptiles.
- Dawn of the Dinosaurs (3:32) :The Tyrannosaurus rex was the biggest bully in the dinosaur world. This is a story-song of how a dinosaur learned her lesson.
- Pembina Diamond Mine (2:44) : The Pembina Hills in southern Manitoba is a fossil-rich stop on the "FOSSIL TRAIL." The Canadian Fossil Discovery Centre has unearthed many important finds of marine reptiles which lay among the beautiful "Pembina diamonds" (gypsome).
- Bruce (3:41) : Bruce was found in the Pembina Hills in Southern Manitoba, Canada. He is one of the largest mosasaurs in the world and his skeleton can be seen at the Canadian Fossil Discovery Centre in Morden, Manitoba. This is the "true" story-song of why Bruce and Plessi are swimming side by side in the CFDC.
- The Way to Dino Town (2:05) : Dance your way to Dino Town! The actions are in the lyrics and the challenge is to get faster and faster!
- Go, Go Manipogo! (4:28) Lake Manitoba is home to the Manipogo, a cryptid that resembles a marine reptile. Sightings of the Manipogo have been reported for over a century.
- Mary Anning (4:12) : Mary Anning(1799-1847) sold seashells by the seashore. Mary was the first person to find and describe marine reptiles.
- Hush Baby Pterosaur : This is a simple lullaby about baby pterosaurs to rock you to sleep with flying dinosaur dreams.
Check it out by visiting their website. www.luluandthetomcat.com
Click here for more information about the Fossil CD
EDUCATION VIDEO – "DIGGING FOSSILS "
One of the most ambitious projects in our Cultural Capitals undertaking was the development of a film to highlight the Town of Morden’s paleontological heritage and stimulate increased tourism to our community. We desired a film that would have both artistic merit and serve as an effective marketing tool. This project and 
our plans have evolved in an exciting and healthy manner.
Early in our planning process, we made the acquaintance of David Rabinovitch, an Emmy-award winning documentary filmmaker who is a native son of Morden and now based in Seattle. Mr. Rabinovitch initially advised us in our planning and subsequently committed his production company Fleetwood Films to produce both the short-term and long-term projects.
The long-term project is a full-length documentary on the marine-reptile fossils housed in Morden at the Canadian Fossil Discovery Centre. This film will be shot in 3D format and will “tell the untold story of one of the largest mosasaurs in the world. Although the scope and funding of this project exceeds the capacity of our Cultural Capitals activity, it definitely is an ongoing fulfillment of Morden’s official Cultural Policy and was initiated through the “Chautauqua Spirit” year of celebration. Click here to see the marketing trailer for “Swimming with Bruce”
The short-term outcome is the video "Digging Fossils", a 12-minute film that will serve multiple functions: a) a stand-alone orientation for visitors to the CFDC collection, b) a web-based marketing tool for prospective CFDC guests and c) advance preparation for public-school students who plan to visit CFDC.
Attracting more school groups to the museum is a key step in increasing its revenue base. Copies are included in the new CFDC education kits.
"Digging Fossils" — as well as “Swimming with Bruce,” the anticipated longer documentary-- addresses Cultural Policy goals of the Town of Morden’s Cultural Policy (Feb. 2006), improving awareness of the Town’s cultural activities and maximizing their economic benefits.
A Manitoba teacher who is experienced in curriculum development researched and wrote the first draft of "Digging Fossils", working in close consultation with David Rabinovitch, Fleetwood Films; David Wilkinson, CFDC Director; and Anita Janzig, CFDC Curator. David Rabinovitch wrote the second draft and then oversaw the filming and editing process.
The narrative of "Digging Fossils" is structured in response to five questions:
- Where do fossils come from? (Discovering)
- What are fossils? (Recognizing)
- What do fossils tell us? (Understanding)
- Why do we collect fossils? (Valuing)
- What can I do? (Experiencing).
Since the primary audience is school-age students, the film narrative also is congruent with the Pan-Canadian Protocols (Common Framework of Science Learning Outcomes K-12). Well suited to constructivist teaching and inquiry-based learning, support materials for the film include questions instructors can use for classroom discussions at select “pause points.”
It is a long-standing principle of interpretation to conclude with a “call to action.”
"Digging Fossils" does just that, inviting visitors to the museum to tour the collection of Cretacious-age fossils and then to extend their experience with a paleo dig. Ideally suited to this appeal, Lulu & the TomCat appear throughout the film singing “Do the Dig!”, the third song from the Fossil Rock CD they created for CFDC as part of our Cultural Capital celebrations.
In his final stage of filming at CFDC, director David Rabinovitch included a number of young people from the Morden community in gallery shots and then allowed them to observe the continuing filming process. He also included University of Manitoba media student--Alex Mutcheson—as a member of his film team.
At the outset of this major project, we identified a number of Cultural Capital goals and feel confident we have fulfilled them well. "Digging Fossils" highlights the distinct character of our community. It has attracted the services of a private partner, David Rabinovitch and Fleetwood Films Ltd., in a manner that supports sustainable cultural development and expression. It plays a strategic role in developing cultural tourism to this community and it implements the cultural policies formulated by our Town Council.
For many years, the Town of Morden marketed its cultural heritage with the slogan, “Come for a Walk in Morden.” In the years ahead, as we move from this short-term project to the longer documentary, a new phrase can be added: “Come for a Swim with Bruce.” The vision and funding of Heritage Canada’s Cultural Capitals program has made this possible.
Digitization of Fossil Collection
The Canadian Fossil Discovery Centre (CFDC) houses Canada’s largest collection of marine reptile fossils. Historically, this vast collection was loosely documented during its earliest years, and was catalogued in the format of a hard copy paper catalogue by Dr. Elizabeth L. Nicholls of the University of Calgary in 1988 when the collection consisted of approximately 400 specimens. Since that time, over the past 20 years, the museum collection grew, doubling in size. However, sloppy collection notes and mismanagement of the collection led to this vast collection existing in a state of chaos. While the CFDC has made numerous attempts to catalogue the collection up to modern scientific standards, it was always an insurmountable task for volunteers without the proper background in paleontology and impossible for the CFDC scientific staff to be able to contribute the vast amount of time that it would take to sort out this unique fossil collection.
A grant from the 2008 Chautauqua Spirit – Cultural Capital of Canada program enabled the CFDC to finally put in the time and work that organizing the chaos on the collection room required. Over the course of 12 months, CFDC scientific staff was able to locate each specimen, and catalogue it in a brand new digital database. Specimens are now fully catalogued and each specimen file contains such information as field notes, lab notes, general information of the specimen, its measurements and anatomical components, specimen loan information, digital photographs of the specimens, scientific publications, etc. The CFDC has been able to organize the collection room, and the storage location for each fossil specimen is now fully documented. The CFDC now has 870 total specimens accessioned into the database, all fully organized and up to modern scientific and curatorial standards.
This database has also recently been loaded onto the new CFDC website, which brings this unique fossil collection to researchers and fossil enthusiasts around the world in electronic format. For example, a researcher in Japan can access the new online database, view fossil specimens from the CFDC collection, read all documented information about a specimen, and contact the CFDC if they are interested to study the specimen in greater detail.
This project was a tremendous success. The CFDC fossil collection, which boasts the largest collection of marine reptile fossils in Canada, is now fully catalogued in the new digital database. This database will be kept up by the CFDC scientific staff and updates should be easy to maintain in the user-friendly database.
