A guest blog entry by Bolortsetseg Minjin, postdoctoral researcher from Mongolia currently working at the Museum of the Rockies:


Bolor (pronounced Boldra) with Jack Horner at a Mongolian dig site.

I am a paleontologist at the museum doing research with Dr. Jack Horner. We are working on the paleobiology of the dinosaur Psittacosaurus, and I am working specifically on how the skull of this dinosaur changes as the animal matures. Psittacosaurus is a sheep-sized dinosaur that is a primitive member of the ceratopsian dinosaur group, which includes the horned dinosaurs like Triceratops.

I just got back from a trip to Mongolia, and I borrowed and brought back some bones of Psittacosaurus with me to study here at the Museum of the Rockies. I just started my postdoctoral research in Bozeman this year. So far I have really enjoyed living here. Bozeman is similar to Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, the city where I was born and grew up. Both places have blue skies and are surrounded by mountains. 

Just last year I established a research institution for paleontology in Mongolia, called the Institute for the Study of Mongolian Dinosaurs, with the support of Dr. Jack Horner. This institution has both research and educational objectives. Molly Ward, who is the Paleontology Educator here at the museum, is helping me to develop paleontology and geology educational programs for K-12 students and for the public in Mongolia. Currently, Mongolia does not have educational resources about paleontology. The Museum of the Rockies has given tremendous support to our new institution to help Mongolian paleontology and education.