4 | County of Grande Prairie
enhance exhibits at institutions such as the
Royal Tyrrell Museum near Drumheller or
have complemented palaeontology studies
at the University of Alberta. Some years ago,
the folks in Grande Prairie began to specu-
late that they might be missing out on the
economic and educational advantages of-
fered by this site.
TRIASSIC TRIUMPH
Brian Brake is the Executive Director of the
Pipestone Creek Dinosaur Initiative. Brake
explains that some ten years ago, a consor-
tium came together to determine how the
region could best benefit from its bounty
in dinosaur bones. Those efforts have since
led to the ground breaking for what is antici-
pated to become one of the most significant
of museums and research centers dedicated
to dinosaurs. Named in honor of a Canadi-
an researcher respected as one of the world’s
leading palaeontologists, the Philip J. Currie
Dinosaur Museum will be located just off of
Highway 43 in the town of Wembley. When
completed next year, the 41,000 square-foot
facility will include a gallery with exhibi-
tions of large skeletons, a wing devoted to
the region’s resources in oil and gas, a tech-
Philip J. Currie Dinosaur Museum
