Sun West Student & Staff Member Recognized at Legislature
Lyndon Alto, a Grade 7 student at Lucky Lake School and his mother, Sun West Educational Assistant Tammy Alto were among a group of Dino-Hunters recently recognized at the Saskatchewan Legislature.
Dino-Hunters is a group founded in 2017 when Jon Ganshorn of Martensville and his daughter Lily discovered a treasure trove of fossils around Lake Diefenbaker. Ganshorn founded the group Dino-Hunters and Lyndon and Tammy were among its first and most active members. The Dino-Hunters, which includes adults and many youth members explore the shores around Lake Diefenbaker where they have found many fascinating fossils from the Cretaceous Period (145 – 66 million years ago) when much of what is now Saskatchewan was covered by an inland sea that was teeming with life.
The Dino-Hunters fossil finding adventures have been covered in the national news and specimens they have uncovered have made it to the Royal Saskatchewan Museum in Regina.
Other students and their parents from the Lake Diefenbaker area have joined Tammy and Lyndon as they scour Lake Diefenbaker for fossils. The excitement the students feel when they make discoveries has inspired them to learn even more about the prehistoric past of the place they now live in.
The video below is a Max TV documentary about the Dino-Hunters featuring Tammy and Lyndon.
The work of the Dino-Hunters got the attention of many people and to kick off Dinovember this year, the Dino-Hunters and Dinosty Fossils were invited to the Saskatchewan Legislature in Regina to be acknowledged for their contributions to science, education and engaging young people in learning.
Jon and Lily Granshorn and Tammy and Lyndon Alto represented Dino-Hunters and they were the guests of the Honourable Laura Ross, Minister of Sport, Culture and Youth, who gave them the royal treatment and was incredibly enthusiastic about the Dino-Hunters’ work and achievements.
Besides being introduced to thunderous applause from members of the Legislature, they were treated to a lunch with dinosaur shaped cookies and given exclusive backstage access to the Royal Saskatchewan Museum. Here they got to learn about how the Museum gets its fossils and see specimens not currently on display at the Museum, such as three-million-year-old shark teeth and 17-million-year-old amber.
“It was truly an eye-opening experience,” said Tammy.
Pictured above: (Centre) Tammy (left) and Lyndon (right) Alto with the Honourable Laura Ross (centre). Pictures on the left (top) Lyndon examining fossils at the Royal Saskatchewan Museum (RSM) and (bottom) on the steps of the Saskatchewan Legislature. Pictures on the right: Lyndon posing with dinosaur fossils at the RSM.
Source: Sun West School Division
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