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Show Park Service to Open Visitor Center At Dinosaur National Monument The newest tourist attraction in the west will be officially dedicated and opened Sunday when the unique "Visitors Center" Cen-ter" will be opened to the public. This center will house and display the world famous dinosaur dino-saur quarry within the Utah portion of the Dinosaur National Monument. Everyone is invited to attend the ceremonies and first tour which will begin at 2 p.m. at the Visitors Center Sunday. Visitors will be greeted in Vernal Ver-nal and directed to the center by a committee of National Park Service members and Vernal businessmen. Assistant Secretary of the Interior In-terior Roger C. Ernest will be the principal speaker. Members of Congress are expected to be among other special guests. Gov. George D. Clyde of Utah will welcome all visitors to Utah and a "Welcome to Dinosaur National Monument" address is to be given by Supt. Jesse H. Lombard. Dr. LeRoy Kay, formerly of Carnegie Museum, will explain the importance of the dinosaur quarry area. Following the dedication, a ribbon will be cut, officially opening the vistor center, and a tour of the building will be conducted con-ducted at about 3:25 p.m. Following the ceremony, a i special tour of the visitor center will be conducted. There the principal feature is an "in-place exhibit" where dinosaur bones are outlined in high relief in the uptilted fossil bearing strata of the ridge which constitutes the center's back wall. Reliefing of the fossils will continue for a number of years and visitors to the center may observe workmen work-men uncovering and preparing fossil dinosaur skeletons. Also in the center are a series of other exhibits that dramatize the story of the dinosaurs, the bones of which first were discovered dis-covered in the quarry area about six miles north of Jensen in 1909 by Dr. Earl Douglass of the Carnegie Car-negie Museum, bones deposited approximately 130 million years ago. From that time until 1924, 26 nearly complete skeletons and numerous partial ones were recovered. re-covered. Twelve dinosaur species spe-cies were represented. The longest skeleton discovered, discov-ered, Dipledocus, was 84 feet; the shortest, Laosarus, six feet. Many of the bones have been assembled as complete skeletons which may be seen in Pittsburg. Washington, Denver, Salt Lake City and Toronto, Canada. Dinosaur National Monument: was established in 1915 in an-80-acre area to preserve the na-i tion's richest deposits of fossil! bones. In 1938, the boundaries' were extended to include the scenic wilderness canyon country coun-try of the Green and Yampa Rivers. The monument now comprises com-prises some 330 square miles where the meandering rivers, deep cut gorges and massive rock formations represent the principal and most spectacular scenic features. Dinosaur Nature Association, a non-profit organization dedicated dedi-cated to disseminating information informa-tion on this park area, will have pamphlets, books, colored slides, postcards and other informative ; items for sale. |