The Dinolympics

Several dinosaur bones from the Museum of Paleontology at Brigham Young University were seen at Dino-lympics '97, a gigantic dinosaur exposition in Japan.

The museum leased several bones for the Dino-lympics which celebrated the 40th anniversary of the Yomiuri Telecasting Corporation of Japan.

"Yomiuri wanted to lease fossils and bones from all corners of the earth and put them on display," said Ken Stadtman, curator and general manager of the Museum of Paleontology at BYU. The exposition theme was about the evolution of "gigantic dinosaurs/sauropods" and their world.

"The Japanese are fascinated by dinosaurs, and the dinosaurs we have at BYU typify the gigantic dinosaurs they wanted," Stadtman said.

Stadtman lent two scapula from the Supersaurus and Ultrasaurus dinosaurs, along with femur bones from three other big sauropods to the company for the exposition.

Stadtman said he was willing to lend the bones to Yomiuri because they were offering to pay a lease fee, which would bring much needed money to the museum. Along with the lease fee, Stadtman insisted that the bones be well insured.

"Any museum is reluctant to let original bones leave the museum. We are responsible for how well the bones are cared for and protected," he added.

One reason Stadtman finally decided to lend the originals is because the Museum of Paleontology was not the only museum loaning original bone.

"For the past three years, bones from the BYU collection have been sent to Japan for special exhibits," Stadtman said. "Our collection is important to the history of dinosaurs."

In May 1995, Japan borrowed bones for the Flower Festival in Gifu Prefecture, Japan. In 1996, the Gifu Prefectural Museum put on a summer-long exhibit, "Dinosaurs of Utah," featuring dinosaur bones from the Museum of Paleontology.

The exhibit ended with the signing of an agreement of cooperation between BYU's Museum of Paleontology and the Gifu Prefectural Museum in Japan.

While in Japan, Stadtman was involved in the agreement signing, a friendship tree-planting ceremony, lectures and a reception. "My interaction with the Japanese has been really enjoyable. They enjoy our dinosaurs so much," said Stadtman, adding that he believes the Japanese have such a strong interest in dinosaurs because of their fascination with dragons.

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