Remember the name Gabrielle Block because she could be making even bigger headlines in the future if she continues as a paleontologist. This nine year-old girl was visiting a dinosaur park in Laurel, Maryland when she picked up a handful of dirt and made a discovery that many scientists never get make in their entire careers.
“I got a handful and sorted through and it looked neat,” Gabrielle told reporters.
Little did she know that little thing that was so “neat” was actually a vertebrae from tail of a raptor (remember Jurassic Park?) that is more than 100 million years-old. When she initially asked she was told that it was just a piece of rock. But on her insistence they took it to a park paleontologist who confirmed that it was a very (very) old bone. What a smart little girl! Perhaps one day she’ll be discovering the rest of that dinosaur.
What makes this story even more shocking is that the park she visited, Dinosaur Park in Laurel, MD, has been open for less than a month. I’m sure this will help in attracting people to visit. The park is open for visitors to get a first hand look and even assist paleontologist Dave Hacker (and others) searching for fossils on an actual dig site.
Hacker was amazed at the find was so quick but more so at the fact that it was made by a curious little girl. “I was impressed,” said Hacker. “As far as I know, it was her first time fossil hunting. Most people see rock– they can’t tell a bone from a rock.”
This is such an historic find that the bone piece is being sent to the Smithsonian Museum in a couple of weeks (only after Gabrielle gets her moments of glory) to be displayed for everyone to see.
That’s a cool thing when a little girl can make a find like this. Make sure your kids see that even they can make discoveries and they should never stop being curious.
