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In ‘Beneath the Surface: From Fluid to Static’, I wrote on how time and budget constraints shaped the final exhibit design of Water:Beneath the Surface much like how water shapes the world around us.

While the design of the exhibit changed considerably over the course of the past few months, the major concepts within the exhibit did not. One of those concepts is a display of minerals where water played some role in their formation.

Early on, the decision was made to leave this area’s development to the end. After all, it didn’t require much more than the selection of minerals which would go on display. Funnily enough, this area which was left to the end had the working title of Left Behind.

But mineral deposition is not the only way things get left behind.

When it came time to selecting the specimens we were in for a surprise. Our mineral collection is large enough that nobody knows off the top of their head everything within it. While a search of our database is a good place to start to identify potential pieces for inclusion, nothing beats the random luck of what is laying next to the specimen of interest.

In this case, it is a fossilized dinosaur bone.

Yes, we were both astounded to discover it and excited to be able to almost immediately put it on display.

The question that remains, however, is what is the bone’s history?

One of the fun things about working in a museum is you never know what you might uncover, and you never know where it might lead you.

To discover more about the background of Water: Beneath the Surface, look for the ‘Beneath the Surface’ posts here in our main blog, as well as in our Rethink blog.