Mannequins in Fossil Butte National Monument’s new Quarry Diorama exhibit. Two of the mannequins were modeled after historic area fossil finders David C. Haddenham and Robert Lee Craig, and two were created to look like typical modern quarry operators. (GAZETTE PHOTO / Theresa Davis)

Kemmerer’s fossil finding history was in the spotlight when Fossil Butte National Monument officially unveiled a new Quarry Diorama exhibit at the Monument Visitors’ Center on Friday, July 21.

Area quarry operators, locals and tourists gathered to celebrate the new exhibit and a few other improvements inside the visitors center.

The exhibit, which began collecting construction bids in 2015, recreates a typical fossil quarry and includes four mannequins: two modeled after historic Kemmerer fossil finders Robert Lee Craig and David C. Haddenham, and two mannequins created to look like a typical modern fossil quarry operator.

“People can see what an actual quarry looks like, because most people just pass through and don’t have time to go out to a quarry,” said Arvid Aase, Fossil Butte ranger and lead curator for the exhibit.

Fossil Butte ranger and exhibit curator Arvid Aase discusses the new exhibit with a visitor. (GAZETTE PHOTO / Theresa Davis)

Robert Craig came to Diamondville in the late 1800s and lost his leg in a mining accident. His fossil collecting work was featured in a National Geographic article. David Haddenham collected fossils in the area from 1918 to the late 1950s.

Visitors can learn more about these men and the historic and modern tools used in fossil finding at the exhibit.

The structure that houses the new exhibit echoes the style of the Fossil Butte Visitors Center. The stone that comprises the mock quarry inside was donated by Green River Stone Company.

Aase and his team cut and collected stone out in the field to make the exhibit as accurate as possible.

“We photo documented each piece of stone we cut to help us basically recreate the stone layers of a quarry in here,” Aase said.

Aase and Fossil Butte employees did thorough research to ensure the mannequins of Haddenham and Craig were accurate.

“We only had photographs, so in order to determine their height, we used things around them in the photos, like a sheepwagon or their tools,” Aase said.

The mannequins were installed with help from local volunteers.

“This project was funded through National Parks visitor fees,” Aase said. “Even though we at Fossil Butte don’t charge an entrance fee, we were still able to benefit from those fees from around the nation.”

Aase also explained the motivation for creating this diorama exhibit.

“We’re a fossil park, and we focus on the natural history of the fossils, but this was the one cultural element that we weren’t really exploring enough,” Aase said.

The exhibit mannequin of historic Kemmerer fossil collector Robert Lee Craig, who had a wooden leg. (GAZETTE PHOTO / Theresa Davis)

The exhibit features a “timeline of exploration and discovery” of Fossil Lake.

“With just the pictures that we have inside, some people didn’t even notice Craig’s homemade wooden leg,” Aase said. “Now that it’s 3-D, people can see just how tough this old guy was.”

Aase said the exhibit has already been well received by locals and tourists.

“People stop and look, and I’ve seen parents point out to their kids that the people represented by the mannequins were real people,” Aase said.

The exhibit open house was successful in bringing local quarry operators together to view the historic techniques of their predecessors.

“People from the quarries all like to get together, because they’re so busy working out at the quarries in the summer that they never see each other,” Aase said.

In addition to the new Quarry Diorama exhibit, the open house showcased the visitors center’s new geology exhibit, updated donor book, and updates to other exhibits.

“We try to keep everything fresh and current with science,” Aase said.

The center also has newer stone samples that Aase and his team found when procuring stone for the diorama.

These stones show the distinct layers of sediment found in ancient Fossil Lake and help visitors learn about the area’s geology.

The structure that houses Fossil Butte’s new Quarry Diorama exhibit. (GAZETTE PHOTO / Theresa Davis)