IntroductionIn1991,agroupofHeritageCenterstaffbeganmeetinginformallyafterworktodiscussaHeritageCenterexpansion.This“committee”was formalized in 1992 by Jim Sperry, Superintendent of theStateHistoricalSocietyofNorthDakota,andbecameknownastheSpacePlanningAboutCenterExpansion(SPACE)committee.The committee consisted of several Historical Society staff andJohnHogansonrepresentingtheNorthDakotaGeologicalSurvey.Ultimately, some of the SPACE committee ideas were rejectedprimarilybecauseofanticipatedhighcostsuchasaplanetarium,arboretum, and day care center but many of the ideas havebecome reality in thenewHeritageCenterexpansion. In2009,the state legislature appropriated $40million for a $52millionHeritageCenterexpansion.TheStateHistoricalSocietyofNorthDakotaFoundationwasgiventhetasktoraisethedifference.OnNovember23,2010groundbreakingfortheexpansiontookplace.Planningforthreenewgalleriesbeganinearnest:theGovernor’sGallery (for large, temporary, travelling exhibits), InnovationGallery:EarlyPeoples,andAdaptationGallery:GeologicTime.The

Figure 1.PartialStratigraphiccolumnofNorthDakotashowingtheageoftheGeologicTimeGallerydisplays.

Figure 2. Platetectonicvideo.NorthDakota'sposition is indicatedbytheredsymbol.

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existing gallery became theInspirationGallery:YesterdayandToday. It isbeingtotallyrenovatedandwill interpretthe history ofNorthDakotafrom territorial days to thepresent.GreatPlainsExhibitDevelopment, an exhibitdesign firm, was hired tofabricate displays in thenewgalleries. Ourtaskwasto develop ideas, providefossil specimens, and writeinterpretive informationfor displays in the GeologicTime Gallery. On April 28,2014 the Geologic Timeand Early Peoples exhibitswhere completed andunveiled to the public. TheInspirationandGovernor’sgallerieswillbecompletedby November in time for the dedication of the HeritageCenter expansion on November 2 in conjunction withNorthDakota’s125thanniversaryofstatehood.

The Geologic Time Gallery provides a perspective ongeological, environmental, climatic, and biologicalchangesinNorthDakotathroughdeeptimefromabout600millionyearsagototheappearanceofhumansinthestateabout13,000yearsago.Thissagaistoldthrougha seriesof exhibits, dioramas, and interactivedisplaysand features more than 600 fossil specimens. Thegalleryisdividedintothefollowingareas:Orientation; Underwater World; When Dinosaurs Ruled; Extinction, Climate Change, and Tropical Swamplands; Mammals on the Savanna; the Great Ice Age; andLearning Lab (fig.1).TheGeologicTimeGalleryismeanttointroducevisitors toNorthDakotaas itwasatdifferenttimes inthegeologicpastbeforethearrivalofhumans.

OrientationFeaturedintheOrientationareaisaninteractivetouchtablethatprovidesatimelineofgeologicalandevolutionaryeventsinNorthDakotafrom600millionyearsagotothepresent.Visitorsactivatethetimelinebyscrollingtolearnhowthegeology,environment,climate, and life have changed in North Dakota through time.A 16-foot-wide screen above the touch table has a loopingvideoshowinghowEarth iscontinuallychangingbycontinentalmovements caused by plate tectonics (fig. 2). The position ofNorthDakotaduringthesecontinentalmovementsisindicatedonthescreen.Awall-sizeNorthDakotaWillistonBasinstratigraphiccolumngraphicislocatedbehindthetouchtable(fig.3).VisitorswilllearnaboutthedifferentrockformationsfoundatthesurfaceinNorthDakotaandthosethousandsoffeetbelowthesurface.Rocksamplesfromseveralformations,includingoil-bearingrocks

such as theBakken Form-ation, are attached to thestratigraphic column forvisitorstosee.

Underwater WorldFrom about 80 millionto 70 million years ago,during the CretaceousPeriod, North Dakota wascovered by inland seas.The Underwater Worlddioramashowswhatthosesubtropical seas werelike and the interesting,sometimes incrediblylarge,animalsthatlivedinthoseseas. Thisexhibit isan immersion experiencewhere visitors will bewalking on the seafloor

Figure 3. Williston Basin stratigraphic cross section and rocks fromseveralformations.

Figure 5. Skeletons(casts)ofthegiantfishXiphactinusandhugeseaturtleArchelon.

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Figure 4.Skeletonofthe24-footlongmosasaur,Plioplatecarpus.

“underwater.” The simulatedunderwater experience isenhanced with sound andlighting effects. Featured in thisexhibit are suspended skeletonsof some creatures that wouldhaveinhabitedtheseasincludingthe 24-foot-long Cooperstownmosasaur (large, marine lizard-like predators) Plioplatecarpus (fig. 4), 16-foot-long tarpon-likefish Xiphactinus (cast), 12-foot-long giant sea turtle Archelon (cast) (fig. 5), and 5-foot-talldiving seabird Hesperornis (cast).Fossilspecimensoftheseanimalsaredisplayedonthe“seafloor.”Awall-sizedmuralbehindthe diorama shows how NorthDakota appeared 80million years ago (fig. 6). Fossils of somesmaller fish including sharks and other animals are displayedwithamagnifierforupcloseviewing.Thefossilsofmanyoftheinvertebrateanimalsthatlivedintheseseas,includingbeautifullypreservedammonites,arealsoexhibited(fig.7).

When Dinosaurs RuledDuring the Late Cretaceous,about 68 million to 65 millionyears ago, oceans receded andwestern North Dakota was ahuge delta. North Dakota’sclimate was warm temperateto subtropical. Exotic animalslived on this delta, includingdinosaurs. This display featuresfullscalecastsoftheskeletonsofTyrannosaurus rex(about35feetlong) and Triceratops (about 30feet long) facingeachother inacombativepose(fig.8).Throughcomputer animation andaugmented reality technology,these animals are brought tolife and do battle when visitors

activateiPadscreens(fig.9).Otherfossilsinthisdisplayincludeaduck-billeddinosaur legbonethatshowsgnawmarkscausedbyT. rex teeth, a skull ofTriceratops (fig. 10), a jawof aduck-billed dinosaur Edmontosaurus, a skeleton of the flying reptilePteranodonanditsnestwithbabies(fig.11),skeletons(casts)of

small raptor-like dinosaurs, a mammalskeleton Didelphodon (cast), plants,and invertebrates that lived with thedinosaurs. Fossils of these plants andanimals are displayed in cases. Awall-size mural showing how North Dakotaappeared65millionyearsagoisbehindthedinosaurskeletons.Anexhibitabouttheevolutionofbirdsisalsoincluded.ArealTriceratopsbrowhornisavailableforvisitorstotouch.

In theNorthDakotaCorridorofHistoryhallway, as one enters the GeologicTime Gallery, the skeleton of Dakota,themummified duck-billed dinosaur, is

Figure 6. HabitatreconstructionwallmuralofNorthDakota80millionyearsago.

Figure 7. Cretaceousshorelineexhibitwithlargeammonites.

Figure 8. TriceratopsandT. rex skeletons(casts).

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displayed which providesa dramatic introduction totheGeologicTimeGallery.

Ext inct ion, C l imateChange, and TropicalSwamplandsAbout 65 million yearsago a devastating massextinction occurred onEarth when the last ofthe dinosaurs and aboutthree-fourthsof all speciesdied. An exhibit discussesthe possible causes of theextinction.Tohelpinterpretthisstoryavideoisshown,a rock showing the K/Pg (K/T)boundary,andmeteoritesaredisplayed.Byabout60millionyears ago, during the Paleocene Epoch, western North Dakotawas a subtropical to tropical forested swampland. A diorama,simulating a swampland, is presented to illustrate this time inNorthDakota’sgeologicpast.Featuredinthisdioramaisacastofa

12-foot-long crocodileBorealosuchus skeleton(fig. 12), a 3-foot-longsalamander Piceoerpteon skeleton, an 8-foot-long skeleton (cast) ofChampsosaurus (crocodile-like animal), turtles, theskeleton (cast) of a lemur-like mammal Plesiadapis,theskullandskeleton(cast)of the bear-size mammalTitanoides, and fossils ofinvertebrates animals.Fossilsofmanyplantsfromthis time are displayed ona 20-foot-long wall (fig.13). On this wall are also

Figure 9. AugmentedrealityiPadinteractive. Figure 10. Triceratopsskull.

Figure 11.Skeleton(cast)oftheflyingreptilePteranodonplusanestofbabies.

Figure 12.T w e l v e -f o o t - l o n gBorealosuchus skeleton(cast).

Figure 13. Twenty-foot-longwallcontainingPaleoceneplantfossils.

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examples of North Dakota’s state fossil, Teredo-bored petrifiedwood(fig.14).FossilsofanimalsthatlivedinthelastseatocoverNorthDakota,theCannonballSea,aredisplayedincludingteethofsharksandotherfishandmanyfossilsofinvertebrateanimals.Awall-sizemuralshowinghowNorthDakotaappeared60millionyearsagoisbehindthediorama(fig.15).

Mammals on the SavannaAbout35millionto30millionyearsago,duringthelateEoceneandOligoceneEpochs,NorthDakotawasa low-lying featurelessplainwithatemperate,dryclimate.Thisopenplainwasascrublandandsavannaconsistingofshrubs,somegrasses,andfewtreeswithsomeponds.Fossilsofmanyexoticmammalshavebeenfoundinthese30-million-year-oldrocks,manyofwhichareexhibitedinthisdisplay.Theexhibit includestheremainsoftheelephant-sizebrontothereMegacerops, giant pig-like Archaeotherium (fig. 16), rhinocerosSubhyracodon,earlyhorseMesohippus(fig.17),weasel-likecanineHesperocyon,insectivoreLeptictis,sheep-likeMerycoidodon,rabbitPalaeologus,predatorycat-likemammalsDinictisandHoplophoneus,andothers.ShellsofthehugetortoiseStylemysandotherturtlesanda

fishskeletonarealsodisplayed.Awall-sizemuralrecreatingNorthDakota’s landscape30millionyearsagoaccompanies thisdisplay (fig.18).

Figure 14. Teredo-boredpetrifiedwooddisplay.

Figure 15.WallmuralshowingwesternNorthDakotaabout60millionyearsago.

Figure 16. Skeleton (center) of the giant pig-like animalArchaeotheriumandothers.

Figure 17. Skeletonofthe3-toedhorseMesohippus.

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6 GEO NEWS

The Great Ice AgeThelastgreatIceAgebeganabout2.6millionyearsagoandendedabout12,000yearsago.ContinentalglaciersadvancedintoNorth

Dakota from Canada on several occasions during thattime,andwitheachadvance, the landscapeand life inthestateweredramaticallyaffectedbytheclimaticandgeologicaleventsassociatedwithglaciation.TheIceAgedisplayshows,throughinteractivevideoanimations,howtheseglacialadvancesaffectedNorthDakota’slandscape.Imagesandlocationsof landformsandothergeologicalfeaturesthatwerecreatedbyglacialactivityareshownonawallmap.Ahands-onexhibitallowsvisitorstoseeupclosesomeoftheboulders(glacialerratics)thatweretransported from Canada by glaciers and deposited inNorthDakota.FossilsofanimalsandplantsthatexistedinNorthDakotaneartheendoftheIceAgeareexhibitedincluding the skull of the giant bisonBison latifrons, askeleton (cast)ofBison latifrons beingattackedby twosaber-toothed cats Smilodon, and a skeleton (cast) ofthehuge, 8-foot-tall, ground slothMegalonyx (figs. 19,20). Other fossils of IceAgeanimalsdisplayed includeremains of a woollymammoth, frog,muskrat, insects,

snails,clams,andplants. AwallmuralshowswhatthelandscapeandlifewerelikeinNorthDakotaneartheendoftheIceAge(fig.21).

TheHighgateMastodon,Mammut americanum,skeletonis displayed in theNorthDakota Corridor of History asoneexitstheGeologicTimeGallerywhichcontinuesthestoryoflifeduringtheIceAgeandprovidesatransitiontotheEarlyPeoplesGallery(fig.22).

Learning LabThe Geologic Time Gallery experience is enhanced by displaysand activities inthe Learning Lab.Avideoona smartboard shows ourexcavation of a60-mi l l ion-year-old crocodile skulland preparation of the fossil in ourp a l e o n t o l o g ylaboratory to give visitors,particularlychildren, an insighton how fossilsare collected and prepared.Thecroc- odile skull is dis-played in theLearning Lab next to the v ideo.E d u c a t i o n a li n f o r m a t i o nprovided in theL e a r n i n g L a b

Figure 18. Wallmural recreatingaNorthDakota landscape30millionyearsago.

Figure 19. Bison latifrons andSmilodon skeleton(casts).

Figure 20. Skeleton(cast)ofthegiantgroundsloth, Megalonyx jeffersonii. These slothslived inNorthDakotaat theendof the lasticeage.

Figure 21. WallmuralshowingthelandscapeandlifeattheendoftheIceAge.PaintingbyKarenCarr.

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Figure 23.Rockandmineralsinthefluorescentdisplay.

Figure 22.Skeletonofthehugeelephant-likeHighgate Mastodon.

includes what is a mineral, what is a rock, how coal is formed, how oil and gas are formed, what is a fossil, howdoesaplantoranimalbecomefossilized,andothergeologicalinformation.Rocks,minerals,andfossilsfortheScienceOlympiadprogramareexhibitedintheLearningLabforstudentstostudy.OtherdisplaysincludeoilwellcoresandcrudeoilfromseveralNorthDakotarockformations,specimensofdifferentgradesofcoalincludinglignitefromNorthDakota,HeritageCenterbuildingstones,anexampleoffossilpreservation,andpseudofossils.Afluorescentmineral black light “closet” is also in the LearningLab(fig.23).ThisfluorescentmineraldisplaycomplimentsthegemandmineralexhibitintheNorthDakotaCorridorofHistoryoutsidethedoorsoftheGeologicTimeGallery.

TheLearningLabwillbeadynamicplacewherepaleontologists,educators,anddocentscangivedemonstrationsandprovidehands-on experiences for students. Itwill be a placewhereteachers canbring their classes to learnaboutNorthDakotageologyandpaleontologyinanintimateenvironment.

AcknowledgementsThe Geological Time Gallery was completed through acollaborative effort between the StateHistorical Societyof North Dakota museum staff and the North DakotaGeological Survey. Fund raising was spearheaded bytheStateHistoricalSocietyofNorthDakotaFoundation.Majordonorsfordisplays intheGeologicalTimeGalleryare the North Dakota Petroleum Council, WhitingPetroleum Corporation, Murex Petroleum Corporation,and Neset Consulting Service. The following peopledonated fossils and rocks for theGeologic TimeGalleryand hallway exhibits associatedwith the gallery: Jacoband Catherine Schlosser, Melvin Anderson, Fred Wertz,Blossomae Campbell family, Tyler Lyson, Olson/Tranbyfamily,TimSomafamily,TomGould,JohnathanCampbell,Peter Mack, Bill Buresh, John Stumpf, Fred Nagel, RayandRussOliger,FreedomMine(NorthAmericanCoal),J.MarkErickson,TheodoreRooseveltMedoraFoundation,NationalParkService-TheodoreRooseveltNationalPark,Amber Kraft, Vern Hanson, Clarence Johnsrud, LaVonneHunze, Jim McCulloch, Dave Jensen, Albert Privratskyfamily, Ron and Bob Obritsch, Bob Fitterer family, DonBurk, Linda and Doug Vannurden, Vernon and CarolSeibold, UND Geology Department, and Kent Pelton.Landowners thatallowedus to collect fossils fordisplayintheGeologicTimeGalleryare:Olson/Tranbyfamily,TimSoma, John Stumpf, Fred Nagel, State of North Dakota,USFS Forest Service-Dakota Prairie Grasslands, Bureauof LandManagement, andUSArmyCorpsof Engineers.WethankallofthesepeopleandorganizationsfortheiroverwhelmingsupporttobringthestoryofthegeologicalhistoryandhistoryoflifeinNorthDakotatothepublic.