A drain commission crew unearthed the bones of a 13,000-year-old juvenile male mastodon on a family farm in Kent County in 2022.
The Clapp family donated the find to the Grand Rapids Public Museum. Dr. Cory Redman, Science Curator at its Community Archives Research Center, says the skeleton is about 80% complete.
“The Clapp Family Mastodon is very well preserved but there’s always some piecing and gluing you have to do. Most of the last two years is waiting for the pieces to dry.”
Last month, two scanning technicians from Research Casting International of Ontario, Canada spent a week 3D scanning each of the more than 200 bones.
“Their company is going to make exact replica 3D prints of the bones and then they’re going to mount it for us so that we can mount the Clapp Family Mastodon - the skeleton - in a standing articulated position to go on display so the public can enjoy it.”
The scans can also be shared for research purposes worldwide.
“If we had a colleague in Germany or across the Atlantic, we could email them those scans so they don’t have to physically be present here in Grand Rapids to view the bones in person. They can use these scans because the detail and resolution is so good.”
The mastodon exhibit is expected to open at the Grand Rapids Public Museum Fall of 2025.
