Montana Dinosaur Center (Seismo the Seismosaurus)

Bynum, Teton County, Montana. Science Museum; open from May 1st to September 30th.

Details

Map. Bynum, Teton County, Montana. Larger map

Where: 120 2nd Ave S, Bynum, MT 59419. Directions
When: Our spring and fall (May 1st until Memorial Day weekend, and the day after Labor Day until September 30th) hours are 10a-5p Wednesday - Sunday.
Hours: Museum open regular hours Memorial Day weekend - Labor Day.
Access: during this period, some exhibits may be temporarily closed or undergoing enhancements.
Walk-in or reserve: appointment-based gallery tours.
Phone: (406) 469-2211
Website: tmdinosaurcenter.org
Managed by: The Montana Dinosaur Center, formerly known as Timescale Adventure, DBA Two Medicine Dinosaur Center.
Established: 1995.

We are a dinosaur museum in Bynum Montana situated between Glacier National Park and Yellowstone National Park.

1978In the summer of 1978 paleontologists Bob Makela and Jack Horner arrived at Marion Brandvold's rock shop near Bynum looking for local fossils; that visit led to the identification of the first baby dinosaur bones ever discovered. en.wikipedia.org
1979The skeleton originally named Seismosaurus was discovered in New Mexico. mtdinotrail.org
1985David Gillette collected the bones for the New Mexico Museum of Natural History. smithsonianmag.com
1991David Gillette announced what he believed was the largest sauropod and named it Seismosaurus halli. smithsonianmag.com
1995The Montana Dinosaur Center was established. tmdinosaurcenter.org
2004After Marion Brandvold's legal fight against Yale and Princeton universities to recover the juvenile Maiasaura bones she had found, the bones returned to Bynum in 2004 and were installed on display at the Two Medicine Dinosaur Center. en.wikipedia.org
2004Paleontologists concluded Seismosaurus was an especially large Diplodocus, retaining the amended species name Diplodocus hallorum. smithsonianmag.com
2020On August 11, 2020, the board adopted new bylaws and voted to change the organization's name to Montana Dinosaur Center. tmdinosaurcenter.org

David Trexler, founder (established the center in 1995).
John Brandvold, donated the land the center sits on (1937-2020).
Marion Kathryn Brandvold, discoverer of the first baby dinosaur bones; rock shop owner; mother of the founder (1912-2014).
Arthur Loy, One of four hikers who discovered the bones later called Seismosaurus (1979).
Bill Norlander, One of four hikers who discovered the bones later called Seismosaurus (1979).
David Gillette, Paleontologist who collected the bones for the New Mexico Museum of Natural History (1985).
Frank Walker, One of four hikers who discovered the bones later called Seismosaurus (1979).
Jan Cummings, One of four hikers who discovered the bones later called Seismosaurus (1979).
Dave Trexler, Founder who located the center in Bynum and made its Seismosaurus sculpture.
Marian Brandvold Trexler, Founder Dave Trexler's mother, who accidentally found the first baby dinosaur fossils displayed by the museum.