Alberta is home to most of Canada's dinosaur fossils and is one of the world's richest sources. Today the landscape is grasslands and badlands, but in the Cretaceous period this was a lush, tropical, coastal ecosystem. The Tyrrell Museum of Paleontology and Dinosaur Provincial Park near Drumheller, are famous. Professor Philip Currie, a renowned dinosaur expert, is teaching a new generation of paleontologists at the University of Alberta, but he also enjoys solving mysteries while doing field work. New research methods are contributing to an increasing knowledge of dinosaurs' locomotion, intelligence, defense, and behaviour. New species continue to be found. The movie 'Jurassic Park' generated a resurgence of interest in paleontology and we can learn a lot about the causes and consequences of mass extinctions and the stresses caused by rapid climate change. Amateur fossil hunters and observant people in outdoor occupations play a key role in finding new dinosaur fossils, bone beds, nesting sites and trackways. The documentary show us the arduous processes of bone excavation, mapping, documenting, transportation to the lab, cleaning, advanced technical analysis, and finally innovative display techniques. Newly discovered bonebeds in Alberta will generate work for many decades and new finds also have significant potential for bringing tourist income to declining small towns like Tumbler Ridge as people seek to learn more about this important part of our planet's history.

*** Click here for the 52 minute version of this program. ***

Produced by Brandy Yanchyk.