Mammoth fight on display at Fort Robinson

The Trailside Museum of Natural History at Fort Robinson State Park will be celebrating the grand opening of its newest exhibit, "Clash of the Mammoths" at 11 a.m. on August 4.

The exhibit is a unique archaeological find. It is the fossils of two mammoths whose tusks locked together during a battle. The mammoths could not separate. They then fell to the ground, and died where they lay.

The fossils were originally found in 1962 in the Little Badlands near Crawford. Since then, the fossils were stored at the University of Nebraska State Museum's research facility at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

With constant community interest and excitement, the museum scientists decided to return the mammoths to their original home.

"The local people have been raising money to do this," said Susan Veskerna, Museum Associate at the Trailside Museum.

Grade school children in the Crawford area had a Mammoth Walk every year, she explained. The children would walk from Crawford to the museum, and supporters would pledge a certain amount for each mile each child walked.

In 2005, the Mammoth Walk and Crawford grade school children raised $2000 for the museum and the exhibit.

After a lot of hard work from the Crawford area community members, the funds were raised to bring the fossils back to Crawford.

In April of this year, the mammoths made their trip back to the Trailside Museum. Paleontologists from the NU State Museum installed the fossils replicating an actual dig site.

Transporting the fossils was not an easy task.

"We had to encase them in plaster and burlap sacks," said Greg Brown, the chief preparator of vertebrate paleontology at UNL, "The fossils had to be immovable."

Brown said those involved with moving were worried that the tusks would be damaged in the move, as they were the most fragile.

The movers took extra care in the transportation. The large truck carrying the fossils had to be lifted 30 inches vertically off of the ground in order to be level with the floor in the Trailside Museum, explained Brown.

Luckily, the only damage found after the move was from the original excavation in 1962.

Museum visitors were able to see the fossils as a work-in-progress since April. Now, the museum visitors will see the completed setting.

In addition to the new exhibit, other attractions include a new mammoth mural. Well-known Nebraska artist Mark Marcuson painted the mural.

Marcuson is known most for his murals featured all over the State Museum in Morrill Hall at UNL, including his most popular mural on display in Elephant Hall, portraying a majestic mammoth herd near the Platte River.

The grand opening on August 4th will include a ribbon cutting and comments by UNL Chancellor Harvey Perlman; Dr. Priscilla Grew, Director of the NU State Museum; and Mark Harris, Assistant Director of the museum.

Many groups were personally invited to the event, and there has been great advertising, said Veskerna, so the museum is looking forward to a large crowd for the event.

No admission will be charged from 10:30 to noon for the event. Regular admission to the museum is $3 for adults, $1 for children, or a family for $6. For questions or more information visit www.trailside.unl.edu.

Clash of the Mammoths exhibitWhere: The Trailside Museum of Natural History at Fort Robinson State Park, 3 miles west of Crawford on Highway 20When: Friday, 11 a.m.How Much: Free from 10:30 a.m. to noon; regular admission $3 for adults, $1 for children and $6 for a family