Approximately 2,000 volunteers are working to restore a 240-million-year-old [1] prehistoric amphibian skeleton at the Copernicus Science Centre in Warsaw, Poland [2].
The project represents a rare opportunity for public participation in paleontology. By engaging thousands of citizens in the restoration process, the center is bridging the gap between professional scientific research and public education before the specimen is officially displayed.
The skeleton belongs to a Mastodonsaurus, a massive predator from the Triassic period. This specific specimen is the first nearly complete skeleton of its kind discovered in southern Poland [3]. The fossil was originally unearthed in 2023 [3].
Restoration is a slow and meticulous process. Volunteers use pneumatic chisels and brushes to remove surrounding rock, working millimeter by millimeter to reveal the bone without damaging the fragile structure [2]. The scale of the effort is necessary due to the size of the creature and the density of the rock encasing the remains.
While some reports have mentioned other amphibian finds from different regions, the work in Warsaw focuses specifically on the Polish Mastodonsaurus [3]. The center aims to fully clean the skeleton to provide a comprehensive look at the predator's anatomy.
Once the cleaning process is finished, the skeleton will be moved to a permanent exhibit. The project highlights the importance of community-led science, and the preservation of regional prehistoric heritage [2].
“Volunteers are working millimeter by millimeter to reveal the bone.”
The use of a large-scale volunteer force to clean a significant paleontological find demonstrates a shift toward 'citizen science' in museum curation. By crowdsourcing the labor-intensive process of fossil preparation, the Copernicus Science Centre can accelerate the timeline for public exhibition while fostering a direct emotional and educational connection between the public and the region's prehistoric biological history.
