Andy Flick
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Jurassic Discovery: A long-lost centerpiece of Vanderbilt’s natural history museum from the 1870s is found
The cast of a plesiosaur, a large marine reptile that lived during the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods, that was once a centerpiece of Vanderbilt’s natural history museum from the 1870s has been unearthed in the basement of Branscomb Quad. Read MoreMay 14, 2025
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Restoring Vanderbilt’s Natural History Museum: Rediscovering the lost plesiosaur (cast)
Embarking on a new research project often brings unexpected discoveries—some intriguing, some novel, but rarely a find of a lifetime. Such a remarkable discovery occurred when university archivist and associate director Kathy Smith stumbled upon a pile of plaster, hidden away for 60 years in a dim, cluttered closet of the Branscomb Quad basement. This plaster turned out to be the long-lost Crampton’s Plesiosaur Cast from the 1870s, missing for nearly six decades. Read MoreSep 3, 2024