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In August of 2005, we visited the Morden Museum, or rather the part called the Canadian Fossil Discovery Center. At that time, it included two additional collections. A sampling of images from that trip are on another page. On May 21, 2006, we visited it again. The museum is now exclusively a fossil museum. They are cataloging and archiving the other collections. Hopefully, the old collections will turn up somewhere else. In their place is a bit more on fossils. On MordenOne might think "Morden, why bother? It is just a small town museum." Simply, it sits on one of the richest marine fossil beds from the Cretaceous. Translation: Plesiosaurs, Mosasaurs, sharks, turtles, sea birds, fish. And Bruce. Morden and the surrounding area is strongly Christian, and is sometimes referred to as the bible belt of Manitoba. This helps to explain some of the display text in the museum (more on that later). However, if you travel to Morden, you will find it is generally open for business on Sundays so you can fill your stomach and your gas tank without any trouble. Of interest are some older stone buildings form the town's beginnings. It also competes with the neghboring town of Winkler for business and growth, and both are doing quite well. Into the MusuemYou drive to the end of a road where you find the mysterious Morden Rec Centre. It is not obvious where the museum is as there is a complete lack of signage. But we found it, and you can too.  
Go in, go to the end of the hall, turn left and look for the sign. Go left down the stairs. You will be greeted by a sign that says Welcome to the Morden MuseumMost of the fossils displayed in our museum come from the Morden-Miami area. They are found associated with the bentonite exposures such as the one reconstructed to the right. The black layers you see are shale; the yellow layers are bentonite. The fossils are usually found in the top two layers of shale, although they may be found in lower layers as well. The beds of bentonite and shale form the Pembina Member of the Vermilion River Formation. Bentonite contains minute amounts of radioactive potassium enabling us to determine that these layers were deposited eighty million years ago. It only costs 6 bucks per adult and less for kids. The tour is self-guiding. On the way in, the first artifact is a complete skull of a small mosasaur that died 80 million years ago.  The ring-like object in the eyesocket is a bone that sits on the outside of the eyeball. It's purpose is to support the eye against the pressures of a deep dive. Getting away from one of these guys would not be easy. Creationism and the CFDCAs unlikely as it sounds, the museum includes panels describing and comparing creationism and Darwinism. But clearly, the CFDC artifacts put the lie to young earth creationism. The artifacts stand on their own merit, dated by multiple techniques. The town of Morden is, however, in the middle of Manitoba's 'bible belt'. As agnostic and atheistic Americans know from their own bible belt, in your face displays of evolution can be cause for trouble. The panels in the CFDC acknowledge some people may have different ideas and the museum accepts that. Works for me, what with those ancient bones filling the display areas. The CDFC displays text which, without stating a claim, puts creationism and evolution side by side. Diorama and Artifact GalleryAlthough a small museum, it's keepers have worked hard to assemble attractive and educational displays. Click the thumbnails for large versions. The big favorite is Bruce, a 43 foot long mosasaur. The plesiosaur next to Bruce is bigger than a man, but judging by the size of Bruce's mouth, that just means two bites. A mosasaur jaw has a hinge, allowing it to open up and swallow larger prey. A second set of teeth behind the hinged section grinds out any complaints lunch might have. Dinosaur SchoolA classroom is set up for kids to learn about dinosaurs. We took a few pics to show what evolutionary enlightenment can be like. Big kids (also known as "adults") can sign up for real digs in the nearby escarpment. Get more information at the CFDC Home page |
