Discovery Playhouse director finds dinosaur bones in Montana expedition

Adults and kids can have a hands-on experience with dinosaur bones when visiting Discovery Playhouse in Cape Girardeau.

Discovery Playhouse executive director Michael Toeniskoetter recently returned from a trip in Jordan, Montana, where he located dinosaur bones. There are currently a number of fossils and bones on display that adults and kids can help clean and piece together at the museum located at 502 Broadway.

Paleo X, a subsidiary of Adventure 360, hosts about five trips a year including three field schools, which Toeniskoetter attended. During the trip he located a broad rib from a Triceratops, a scapula segment or hip socket from an unknown dinosaur and a small Tyrannosaurus Rex tooth.

Toeniskoettter explained the benefits of having on-site dinosaur bones and fossils at Discovery Playhouse.

"We're providing patrons with hands-on paleo experience of cleaning and prepping the actual fossil. That is what we are going for. That's our goal," he said. "One of the things that I think is really funny is we use our senses to detect fossils, and curiosity is one of those things. You can look up fossils, as opposed to rocks and sticks, here. So, I've seen people out in the field, who lick the fossil and that would be one of the tells or indicators that you had found a fossil."

Toeniskoetter said he wants visitors to the playhouse to be able to not only see, but also touch the bones and fossils of the prehistoric creatures. Among other exhibits, Discovery Playhouse currently features a Triceratops skull mold individuals can clean using a toothbrush, teeth from a Megalodon, and numerous fossils. Toeniskoetter said he hopes the exhibit will not only educate individuals on Earth's past, but also the transitions Earth is currently making in the present and future.

"It is not a dead science, but it is, you know, because most of it is dead," he said. "Understanding where we came from, understanding how Earth used to be, how animals that had hearts and lungs and lived in hot and cold environments, understanding how they lived during that time period on Earth, then adding a human component and seeing how Earth is now compared to pre-humans."

The dinosaur exhibit at Discovery Playhouse opened around a year and a half ago, according to Toeniskoetter. He said he is hoping the exhibit provides an unforgettable experience to the playhouse's patrons. He said Discovery Playhouse is currently the only children's museum featuring a hands-on experience with dinosaur bones or fossils.

Discovery Playhouse is open 1 to 6 p.m. Sunday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Friday and 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday.

The dinosaur bones and fossil lab is open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and 1 to 5 p.m. Sunday.