SUPPORTING THE SCIENTIFIC, EDUCATIONAL , AND PUBLIC OPER ATIONS OF THE ROYAL TYR R ELL MUSEUM.

ANNUAL REPORT 2 0 1 1 – 2 0 1 2

The Royal Tyrrell Museum Cooperating Society (the Society) has celebrated another very successful and productive year. The Society contributed just over $270,000 in support of Museum research, exhibit development and Distance Learning program development and received almost $140,000 in donations, honorariums and grants to support Museum and Society projects.

Thank you to:

• The Calgary Foundation, Alberta Culture and Community Services, Encana Corporation,Total E&P Canada, ConocoPhillips Canada Resources Corp., ARC Resources Ltd., Wood Buffalo Youth Science Foundation, Nexen Inc. and Cenovus Energy for grants and honorariums received.

• Vegreville Composite High School, Greentree School, Crowfoot School Kindergarten, Canada-Helps.org, Ridge Rinkel, Ancil Humphrey, and Lara Pawluk for their generous contributions.

• Current Society members for their continued support.

Through the dedication of Dean, Amie and the excellent Gift Shop staff, the Gift Shop had another prosperous year, realizing just over $2,164,000 in sales. This is almost a two percent increase in sales from last year, suggesting that we are beginning to recover from the global economic downturn. This year, we were excited to carry product from Sinking Ship’s popular television series Dino Dan, which was very well received by our customer base. All net profit generated from the Gift Shop is held in reserve for future Museum projects.

The Society assisted the Museum in its scientific research by providing support to numerous research projects. As well as sponsoring trips within Alberta, the Society sponsored trips to Wyoming, New York, Illinois, Kansas, Ohio, and California in the United States, and also to China. This support afforded Museum researchers the opportunity to attend conferences, present papers, collaborate with fellow researchers, and conduct further research and study. The Society provided support for travel by Royal Tyrrell Museum staff to Fort McMurray to collect and document the fossil discoveries of Alberta’s oldest known dinosaur, a 110-million-year-old ankylosaur by Suncor staff and an elasmosaur (a long-necked marine reptile) by Syncrude employees. The Society continues to host the Royal Tyrrell Museum FTP site for the upload and download of research files, and to fund a post-doctoral research fellowship position.

SUPPORTING THE SCIENTIFIC, EDUCATIONAL , AND PUBLIC OPER ATIONS OF THE ROYAL TYR R ELL MUSEUM.

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Gift Shop gift cards were given to a number of Museum volunteers in appreciation for the numerous hours spent in the preparation lab. The Society also financed a number of palaeontological memberships, purchased books for the Royal Tyrrell Museum Library, covered the expenses for fossil CT scans, and sponsored access to the oil site geological database. The Society covered expenses for a flight over Mud Butte, a glacial geological feature by Consort, for David Eberth and Dennis Braman. In September, the Society sponsored the 2011 International Hadrosaur Symposium, which brought together noted palaeontologists and fellow researchers from Canada, Belgium, Argentina, China, the United Kingdom, Mongolia, Mexico and the United States to share the results of their recent research on duck-billed dinosaurs and to collaborate with Royal Tyrrell Museum researchers.

The Society continues to fund exhibit redevelopment. This year support was given to design and construct a third science pod for the Science Hall, and the Society approved funding for a new exhibit entitled Alberta’s Last Sea Dragon: Solving An Ancient Puzzle which will help interpret the science behind palaeontology and the methods palaeontologists use to determine their findings. In support of the Museum’s Hoodoos preservation project, the Society provided funding to fabricate and install two shade structures at the Hoodoo Historical site. The Society is also managing funds received from a grant to expand, revitalize and maintain the Cenovus Energy Palaeo Play Park. This year, the Society also provided funding for a short-term junior design position. To further educational programming, the Society purchased equipment and software for ATCO Tyrrell Learning Centre Distance Learning programs, covered expenses for video conference software technical support to the program, and continues to manage the contract for the Distance Learning staffing and professional development. In addition, the Society administered and presented scholarships on behalf of the Drumheller Family and The Calgary Foundation. Funding was provided for the Royal Tyrrell Museum High Science Awards and for bursaries for 12 students who attended the 2011 International Hadrosaur Symposium. One Museum staff member received support from the Society to attend a Museum Studies course at the University of Victoria and honorariums were given to four other students who came to train for the Science Camp. Further support to the Science Camp program was given by continuing to fund the licensing, maintenance and operation of a van. The Society continues to be the major sponsor for the Museum’s Prehistoric Arts Contest and the annual Speaker Series.

SUPPORTING THE SCIENTIFIC, EDUCATIONAL , AND PUBLIC OPER ATIONS OF THE ROYAL TYR R ELL MUSEUM.

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The Society assisted in promoting the Museum throughout the province and around the world by sponsoring various promotions, including the Museum’s Flickr photo contests, filming footage in the galleries, an Easter weekend event, the Calgary Co-op and Deerfoot Mall’s Jurassic Park Drive-In event, Beauty and the Beast Off-Broadway, and The Big Bang Theory pitch. Funding was also provided for lunches and gifts for science writers and reporters who toured the Museum, vests for Royal Tyrrell Museum staff who promote the Museum at various venues, travel to Anaheim, California, for Travel Alberta’s Alberta Day promotion, and expenses for staff and volunteers to attend the Sherwood Park “Parade of Camps” expo to promote the Encana Badlands Science Camp. The Society also continues to fund a fee assistance program to enable underprivileged adults to visit the Museum.

Local promotion of the Museum included a hole sponsorship at the Drumheller Chamber of Commerce Golf Tournament, sponsorship of a “Mini Chuck for Charity” through radio station Q91, support for the Museum parade float in the Drumheller parade, and the Museum’s holiday social. The Society also contributed over $4,300 in Gift Shop product and Royal Tyrrell Museum passes to 33 charitable fundraisers. Through the Drumheller Fund, the Society provided $11,620.00 in support to three charitable organizations; Kaleidoscope Theatre Society of Drumheller, the Drumheller Public Library, and the Drumheller Community Golf Association.

The Society would like to thank Karen Syvertsen for her extensive contribution to develop online membership capacity. We expect to have memberships available online within the next few months.

On behalf of the Board and myself, I would like to congratulate all Society staff on another productive year: the Distance Learning staff who engage classrooms of eager young minds, the efficient Gift Shop staff, the Post-Doctorate Fellow who continues to research and describe new species of fish, and the Society’s administration staff who aids our Business Manager in streamlining the reporting mechanisms while keeping the Board and Museum up to date with comprehensive financial reports. Thank you all for your continued hard work and excellent contributions.

SUPPORTING THE SCIENTIFIC, EDUCATIONAL , AND PUBLIC OPER ATIONS OF THE ROYAL TYR R ELL MUSEUM.

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I would like to recognize our Business Manager, Penny Dekeyser, who is retiring at the end of June 2012. She has been an asset to the Society since she became the Business Manager in September 2004. Her professionalism and attention to detail, her aptitude for financials and spreadsheets, as well as her ability to facilitate the Society’s various partnerships is evident in her daily interactions. I would like to thank her for her dedication, loyalty and leadership, and wish her continued success in the adventures she pursues after her retirement. We welcome Angela Keibel as the next Business Manager for the Society, and Glenda Kendrick will join our team as Accounting and Administrative Assistant.

I would also like to thank the Museum’s Executive Director, Andy Neuman, for his support and guidance, and our dedicated Board members who, together with our Business Manager, continue to maintain a strong relationship with the Royal Tyrrell Museum, the Government of Alberta, and the Drumheller and surrounding communities. We look forward to another successful and productive year.

Tom ZariskiChairman, Royal Tyrrell Museum Cooperating Society

SUPPORTING THE SCIENTIFIC, EDUCATIONAL , AND PUBLIC OPER ATIONS OF THE ROYAL TYR R ELL MUSEUM.

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