Did you know the Frontier Gateway Museum is located on the Montana Dinosaur Trail? The museum has edmontosaurus, Thescleosaurus, and Triceratops fossils, and replicas of the Stegoceras. The largest specimen is a full-size replica of a Struthiomimus. The original fossils of the Struthiomimus were found on a ranch a few miles from the museum. This replica was constructed by five Earth Science majors at Tennessee Technical College, led by guest instructor, Jerry Jacene. The original fossils amounted to most of the dinosaur, but some pieces, such as ribs were missing so the class had to mirror them to fill in the complete dinosaur. The whole process took an entire semester. This Struthiomimus was likely very fast and Jerry Jacene describes it as a “Cretaceous road runner.”

And you would have seen it running around this area roughly 70 million years ago. A lightly built animal, it had long legs–built for sprinting. It had a long, curved neck and a small head. With quite strong arms, and curved claws on its fingertips. The museum has nicknamed it, Margie. So go ahead, introduce yourself, and don’t worry, should Margie wake up, she has a toothless beak, so she is or was, likely a herbivore.