In honor of Caribou’s 150th anniversary, a beautiful hand-made quilt honoring Caribou women was on display for the month of May. This beautiful quilt was created by nine regional members of the Crown of Maine Quilters group and is truly a piece of art. The quilt has 30 squares and each square acknowledges a Caribou woman who was first in her field, including Senator Susan Collins and Recreation Department Director Kathy Mazzuchelli. The quilt created much interest from the visitors at the museum and the beauty of the quilt appreciated by all.
Contributed photo
Olaf Nylander, a.k.a. Kimber Noyes, visited at the museum during the official summer hours opening.
In addition to celebrating the 150th birthday of Caribou, according to Jeanie McGowan, director of the local museum, the natural history museum celebrates the dinosaur discovery path that began 150 years ago when early paleontologists began to uncover dinosaurs – extinct for approximately 66 million years.
On display in the museum’s main lobby was a life-sized replica of a Tyrannosaurus rex skull named Black Beauty found in Canada in 1981. The replica skull was on loan to the Nylander from Tony Sohms, a well-known science educator from Bangor, also known as “the bug man” specializing in entomology. Sohns offers education programs for schools and groups around the country.
On loan from the Northern Maine Museum of Science at the University of Maine at Presque Isle were two large dinosaur footprint fossils, a huge fossilized Hadrosaur leg bone, a field specimen Triceratops skull, a replica of a dinosaur egg and other dinosaur bones and coprolite specimens. Many of the displays were hands-on and children had a great time touching actual dinosaur fossils. Some great photos were taken with visitors putting their heads in Black Beauty’s toothy jaws. Some fossils will remain on exhibit at the Nylander Museum, but Black Beauty is on her way to a new site.
Local paleontologist and university professor Dr. Kevin McCartney gave two talks about dinosaurs. The first presentation covered the overall history of dinosaurs. In closing out the month and the dinosaur exhibit, Dr. McCartney gave an excellent presentation on the extinction of dinosaurs. Both educational talks were very well attended and enjoyed by the museum’s visitors.
Dr. McCartney said, “I am pleased that so many people attended the Nylander’s Dinosaur Month programs and enjoyed the dinosaur exhibits. Most of us really are quite intrigued to learn about dinosaurs and the earth’s history. It was a unique exhibit for Maine and wonderful to have so many actual specimens about while talking about these exciting creatures.”
Refreshments were served when the presentations concluded. Other activities during the month included a dinosaur movie and a hands-on clay-play session with the Nylander’s director McGowan giving the children an opportunity to make measured reproductions of Black Beauty’s large carnivorous teeth, a T rex claw, a snake, and a “splatter” pig.
Kimber Noyes from Noyes’ Flower and Plant Shop in Caribou, attended the Nylander exhibit closing dressed like Olof Nylander. To the delight of everyone, he looked almost exactly like one of the pictures of Olaf Nylander on display.
The gift store offered special dinosaur gifts for the children and visitors and there were three prize drawings with packages of wonderful dinosaur paraphernalia going to Eleanor Fisher, Jonathan McEndorfer, and Margaret Hart.
The Nylander’s summer hours are Tuesday through Saturday, from 12:30—4:30 p.m., except holidays. The museum is air-conditioned, handicapped accessible and offera an outside garden space as well as indoor exhibits and displays.
For more information call the museum at (207) 493-4209 during open hours.
