The Royal Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology’s 2019 Speaker Series starts on January 17, 2019. The first session, “Depth charges, dinosaurs and a lost love found: Amateur fossil collector Maurice Stefanuk,” will be presented by Darren Tanke, Preparation Technician at the Royal Tyrrell Museum.
There are many individuals in the Royal Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology’s 30-year history who have contributed to its success as Canada’s dinosaur museum. Maurice Stefanuk (1924 – 2016) was one of the Museum’s first technicians and research assistants. He worked on many of the original specimens that are on display today in Dinosaur Hall. Born and raised in Drumheller, Stefanuk spent his childhood exploring the badlands. During one outing, he found a large carnivorous dinosaur tooth—a small discovery that sparked a lifelong interest in fossils from the area. Stefanuk’s biggest contribution to science was the discovery of two of the best skeletons of the tyrannosaur Albertosaurus in Alberta. One was discovered in 1973 east of Trochu, and the other in 1985, not far from the Museum. Both of these specimens have been used in a number of displays and landmark scientific studies.
In his presentation, Darren Tanke will discuss the life story of Maurice Stefanuk, and his contributions to palaeontology in Alberta.
The Royal Tyrrell Museum’s Speaker Series talks are free and open to the public. The series is held every Thursday until April 25 at 11:00 a.m. in the Museum auditorium. Speaker Series talks are also available on the Museum’s YouTube channel at: youtube.com/c/RoyalTyrrellMuseumofPalaeontology.
