Behind the Scenes

Witte’s New Hixon Family Paleontology Preparation and Conservation Laboratory

The Naylor Family Dinosaur Gallery features stunning dinosaurs and fossils, bringing to life the giant creatures that walked the shores and plunged the depths of ancient seas that covered Texas hundreds of millions of years ago. The gallery is only one part of the Witte’s role in Texas paleontology.

The museum’s off-site Collections Repository houses the museum’s paleontology and geology collections, as well as the Hixon Family Paleontology Preparation and Conservation Laboratory. In the fall of 2020, the Witte Museum received an Institute of Museums and Library Services (IMLS) grant for $250,000 to catalog and conserve these collections and re-house them in specialized museum storage cabinets.

With the help of student interns and wonderful volunteers, the Witte has rehoused more than 6,500 fossils in the paleontology collection and is halfway through rehousing its geology collection.

The Hixon Family Paleontology Preparation and Conservation Laboratory includes specialized tools, equipment and materials necessary to maintain the collections and to grow the collection over the years to come.

Fossil specimens collected in the field must be prepared and stabilized under controlled conditions before they can be researched and, for some fossils, displayed in the Zachry Family Dinosaur Lab. Air scribes are used to help remove rock from around the fossils.

New museum-quality storage cabinets allow for better access, as well as safe and secure storage of specimens.

A large majority of the Witte’s paleontology collection is made up of invertebrate fossils collected from all over Texas and surrounding areas.

Over-sized shelving allows for the storage of much larger fossil specimens, such as the numerous mammoth and mastodon bones in the Witte’s collection.

Mineral specimens represent some of the earliest collections acquired by the Witte Museum dating back to the 1920s and 30s.

A Leader in Texas Discovery –

The Witte Museum is now recognized as a state and federal repository for paleontological and archeological specimens, which enables the Witte to collect material from museum-led excavations on state and federal land, hold the material in public trust and provide access to researchers.

With the upgraded collection space and paleo lab, along with state and federal repository status, the Witte is building a robust paleontology program with new research and field excavations throughout Texas and that will help position the museum as a leader in Texas paleontology. Through this program, the Witte will expand our scientific understanding of fossil vertebrates and expand the fossil, mineral and rock collections for students, educators and the community with access through exhibitions and public education. The museum will provide opportunities for high school and college students to gain invaluable experiences that can lead to career readiness.

Texas has had a long history of fossil discoveries and excavations, and the Witte and the work of Dr. Thomas Adams, thanks to the financial support of Witte Museum’s members and donors, who are playing an essential role during this exciting time for paleontology in Texas.