For Immediate Release
June 25, 2003

On Thursday, July 3 at 7 pm, the Tumbler Ridge Community Centre’s Fireside Lounge will be the site of the unveiling, by Mayor Clay Iles, of the first official exhibits of the Tumbler Ridge Museum Foundation.

TRMF Vice-President Dr. Charles Helm will introduce and interpret the exhibits, which include both wall-mounted and cabinet displays of dinosaur material and other fossils. The other main themes of the future Tumbler Ridge Museum and Dinosaur Centre are also represented: coal and the creation of Tumbler Ridge, pioneer history, and natural history. There are also a number of exhibits donated by the Royal Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology. The exhibits were funded by the District of Tumbler Ridge, which had allocated $12,000 for exhibit design and development. However, very little of that funding was necessary, thanks to the volunteer efforts and donations.

On hand for the ceremonies will be palaeontologists Rich McCrea of U of A, and Lisa Buckley, currently studying at the School of Mines and Technology in South Dakota, who will provide the public with an update on the progress on the excavation of BC’s first and western Canada’s oldest dinosaur in a nearby canyon. Marisa Gilbert will provide details on the July 7 launch of the Dino Camp program.

Immediately following the 7 pm ceremony, local resident Larry White will deliver a public slide show presentation, detailing his month-long training session at the Royal Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology in Drumheller, Alberta. This training has allowed him to be Tumbler Ridge’s representative on the excavation team, and he will be largely responsible for the preparation of the bone material that is brought out of the canyon into Tumbler Ridge. The presentation will take place in the TR Public Library, also located in the community centre.