Roundup Record Tribune & Winnett Times -

Earth Science Foundation has been digging. And digging. They have had a successful year in Musselshell County finding prehistoric bones and leading digs for students, vets, and other interested folks who just want to get out and experience fossil hunting. Thomas Hebert has committed to adding these finds to our local museum to add to the already fantastic historical artifacts and memories that the museum has collected from Musselshell County.

The new exhibits will be taking the history of our county back even further to the prehistoric era. To help finance the project, our local hero, Signal Peak, once again came to offer a large gift to the Foundation and Museum to help make this possible. Construction has already begun, and Thomas hopes to have the exhibits ready for a grand opening next year. Kelly Gebhart kindly offered a great deal on the lumber for the project, and Pronto Construction has been doing the construction.

Lura Pitman

The project is expected to bring a new tourism to Roundup. People might even put Roundup as a destination in part of their vacation plans. Thomas has big plans for more things to come. He hopes to have a full skeleton in the museum next year, as well as some other surprises which he will not say. He has also purchased the old Evans building on Main Street. He hopes to have a café, gift shop, replicas of bones, books, and a conference room in back that the public can use. He is hoping to give opportunity for more interaction with the students here, including opportunity for tutoring. Some of the people who work with Thomas have PHD and college degree and can be a great resource for local students. One of his interns just took a job teaching at the Roundup High School. The foundation has begun to work with the homeschool children group in Roundup. Thomas took two hundred children out on tours last summer, as well as eight hundred visitors have come through to work in the prep lab.

The Earth Science Foundation and Thomas want to give a special thank you to everyone who has made a donation to help bring the project to fruition. He hopes at some point to be building a very big museum in Roundup, in addition to the local museum. He mentions that there is a "Wheel Wall Campaign" in which those who donate will have their name added to the wheel. If you would like to find out more, schedule a time to go dig, or to donate; simply go to the website, http://www.letsdig.com. The Earth Science Foundation is non-profit, and runs entirely on donations, so every dollar given is valued.