The dinosaur fossil skull of an Acrocanthosaurus, above, is one the community owns.

Just like John Hammond brought the dinosaurs back to life in the Jurassic Park movies, a group of people in Blue Earth is trying to bring back the dinosaur fossil display in the city.

And that could be “Good News” for the community in several ways, including tourism and giving folks another reason to visit Blue Earth.

Ever since the Blue Earth City Council terminated a contract with local fossil collector Jim Pollard and had his collection removed from the Blue Earth Community Library, a group of local citizens has been meeting to see what they can do to bring the fossil collection back on display for the public.

“It started just as a loose group of people who had an interest in seeing if a new location for the fossil discovery center could be found,” says Randy Anderson, one of the group. “Now the group has become organized, has filed to become a 501(3)(c) corporation and created a name for the organization.”

The name of the group is the Children’s Museum of Southern Minnesota. However they have selected the name Southern Minnesota Museum of Natural History as the potential name of the new space.

“We wanted to not limit ourselves just to Jim Pollard’s fossil collection,” Anderson says. “There may be other collections we want to have on display.”

The now organized group, which first started meeting several months ago, has now been investigating nearly every possible building in Blue Earth as a new home for the museum.

“We have done intensive study of every possible site, from cost of the building, to cost of potential repairs and renovation, to costs of insurance, utilities and upkeep,” Anderson says. “We are trying to find the best possible space.”

The group hopes to have a new home for the museum and Pollard’s fossil collection by this next June, in a downtown building. That does not mean the group couldn’t eventually have a larger museum in the future.

That might be five years down the road or more, they say.

“We also plan to eventually have the two pieces that were donated, the flying Pteranodon and the Acrocanthosaurus skull, on display, as well,” Anderson adds. That may not be until they have a final location, Pollard adds.

However, the group has already started fundraising for another signature piece to have on display.

“We decided we would like to have a full-size dinosaur skeleton to have on display, sort of a wow factor when people walk in,” Anderson says. “We are trying to raise funds for an Allosaurus that we know is available.”

The group has already started some fundraising efforts, but plans to spend the first half of 2024 raising $100,000 to get things going. That includes the new fossil, building costs and first year operation.

“We feel we can qualify for several kinds of grants for our funding in the future, once we are up and going,” Anderson says. “We are already at work on that, too.”

Members of the group feel that this new venture can be a huge boost to the city and community of Blue Earth and the area.

“We really feel this is something that is going to draw folks from all over the area to come and visit,” Anderson says. “Locally we want to partner with schools and other groups for educational opportunities. And we want to promote this as a big tourist boost. People will come to see the Green Giant and some giant dinosaur fossils as well.”

Members of the group include Anderson, Chuck Hunt, Jim Pollard, Marty Sawyer, Wendy Cole and Vickie Smith.

Stay tuned for more good news this coming year as the work continues to bring those dinosaurs back to life in Blue Earth.