We packed up and got some supplies before heading out to the worlds only Musical Fence! You could really hear the different pitches. It was designed and made by a percussionist and it had it's world premier a few years ago. He also made a drum kit and some other percussion interments made out of junk from the area. They leave a pile of sticks for you to use when you go there to play. The kids had a ball there.
After playing a tune on the musical fence we drove out of town to see the Age of Dinosaurs collection. We had the opportunity to go into the lab and see how they collect, store and clean the dinosaur bones as well as join all the fragments together. Its quite amazing. When they find the bones they pack them in plaster so they look like a giant egg and then transport them back to the lab. They only go out on digs for 3 weeks of the year and what they find currently gives them 5 years of restorative work to do! t is painstakingly slow work. If you are over 18years of age you can volunteer to go on a dig or to work in the lab.
The kids with a replica of 'Banjo'
Amongst the collection are three new species of dinosaur discovered in Australia. Two of them have scientific names but are known as 'Banjo' (the carnivore) and 'Matilda' (the large long neck gentle giant and herbivore). The third one is yet to be officially identified but it is called 'Wade'(another gentle giant herbivore) after Dr Wade who excavated the stampede. They are amazing to see and so very large up close.
After a late lunch we hit the road and drove to Longreach. We camped by a waterhole about 10 minutes out of town. We decided to not go to Muttaburra (we were dinosaured out) and to Balcaldine which meant I did miss the birthplace of the union movement in Australia (the sites of the first Shearers Strikes in 1891 & 1895 and the Tree of Knowledge however we just wanted to get on the road and stick to our plan of starting the Birdsville Track early July.
It was a freezing cold night!
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