That darn Triceratops

Every time I visit OPU's blog about the Triceratops Project, I get a little more upset and feel a lot more excluded from what could be a great introduction to specimen preparation. I'm not going to link to the blog from here, because I've complained a lot about the project and I don't want it getting back to me if I ever do get a chance to take part, but I can tell you that if you type "Triceratops Project" into a Google search field, it'll be the first hit.

Anyway...

Unfortunately, it seems that nobody in the geology department has any idea how to prepare the fossil...and they can't find anyone to come to OPU to teach them how, so they're thinking of canning the project. The last time I spoke with anyone about the project was a couple of weeks ago, when I asked if there was anything I could do to keep the project afloat. . I contacted the faculty supervisor and offered to put a message out on the vertpaleo listserv to see if someone would be willing to help out. I never heard back.

I feel like I'm annoying people by trying to get involved...but at the same time, I don't care. I don't understand why someone who has shown as much interest in the project as I have hasn't been given the opportunity to work on it. I mean, I don't know anything about prep work...but it's obvious that everybody else working on the project doesn't know anything either. I'm only an undergraduate...but so are 4 of the 6 people working on the project.

I guess I wouldn't feel so bad if the person I'd last contacted was a grad student or something...but she's actually my old advisor, a professor and an important figure in the geology department. Of all people, she should be the most likely to at least write a "No thanks, we don't need any more help with this" email.