Pennsylvania's Mastodon Finds Permanent Home at State Museum

New Exhibit to Open Feb. 27

HARRISBURG, Pa., Feb. 2, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Marshalls Creek Mastodon, one of the most significant fossil specimens recovered in the state, will go on permanent public display at The State Museum of Pennsylvania on Feb. 27.

Standing nearly 20 feet long and nine feet high at the shoulders, the nearly complete, 12,000-year-old skeleton will be featured in a new gallery, "Life Through Time: a New Paleontology Experience."

"The 3,350-square-foot paleontology gallery will explore 'life through time,' documenting the changes spanning 296 million years," said Barbara Franco, executive director of the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission. "In addition to the mastodon, other 'residents' of the gallery will include Coelophysis, Phytosaur, Camarasaurus, Seymouria, Triassic specimens, Parasaurolophus T-Rex and Platybeladon."

For years, only half of the mastodon was mounted at the museum. The full skeleton was displayed for three months early last year for the first time, and then disassembled to be reconstructed as part of the new gallery.

The new exhibit represents a $1 million investment by the commonwealth with an additional $88,000 from corporate, family and individual sponsors.

On July 5, 1968, two employees of Lakeside Peat Humus Company in Marshalls Creek, Monroe County, accidentally snagged the mastodon's skull while they were running a bucket through a peat bog as part of routine mining operations.

The State Museum of Pennsylvania is located at 300 North St., Harrisburg, adjacent to the state Capitol.  Museum hours are Wednesday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday from noon to 5 p.m.  Admission is $5 for adults and $4 for children and senior citizens.

For additional information on events at the museum, visit www.statemuseumpa.org or call 717-772-6997.

Media contact: Kirk Wilson, 717-783-9882

SOURCE Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission