Dinosaurs, anyone?
The Sirindhorn Museum in Kalasin offers up a look at some of the species found here, including some fossils first discovered by a monk in 1970. An excavation site and the temple itself pair nicely with an additional park of dinosaurs, all within a short ride of each other.
Credit the Abbot of Wat Sakkawan, Phrakhru Wichit Sahatsakhan, for his discovery of some large bones in 1970. He didn’t know what they were, and let them be until a team confirmed they were fossils in 1978. A couple of years later, a Thai-French group of paleontologists confirmed the bones they found were from a sauropod.
Some 14 years later, the area got its first major-scale excavation got underway, revealing over 700 fossils in all.
Opened to the public in April 2007, Her Royal Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn presided over the grand opening in December 2008. Hey, if I had a museum named after me, you’d bet I’d be presiding over the festivities.
The first section is a pretty typical look at the formation of the universe and the globe we live on. Some of the translations seemed a bit unnatural (as it turns out, “radiation of jawed fishes” is accurate), but the English was good enough.
I didn’t see a sign about this guy… That said, this and almost all of the dinosaurs towered over the humans:
Also on display in this central room is the Isanosaurus attavipatchi and the Phuwiangosaurus, a species first found in northeast Thailand.
The real fossils on display. What, you thought scientists found whole sets of fossils in the same, convenient spot? They’re also covered in glass and are (presumably) in a controlled environment.
Personally, I’d love to see this place open for a Halloween tour — recreations like the following would scare the crap out of folks.
For all those doing duckface and thinking they’re doing something original, this Edmontosaurus annectens has you beat by tens of millions of years. A heribvorous dinosaur, this guy had a wide, flat beak with no teeth, so he looked like a duck.
Also here in the museum as you round one of the last corner is the research side of things — rather empty looking on this particular weekend, but apparently not just a set piece. Pass through a couple of other rooms and a decent souvenir shop before you head back to the parking lot.
With the main museum complete, head on to the rest of the story — also called…
Phu Kum Khao Dinosaur Site Museum
Presenting the actual site where fossils were discovered and excavated. It’s now more or less preserved in the open-air building, although it seems the budget for this site was a fraction of what was spent on the museum. There is no English translation, no English signs, and no multimedia here at all…
A few pictures of the excavation process; the longer story is in Thai only.
To be honest, there’s not much more to say about this site — 10 minutes is really all you need.
Wat Sakkawat
From here, we have two more places to see — first, Wat Sakkawat, the temple where the fossils were first discovered…
Um, OK…? I got nothing.
The main temple building itself is closed, and another smaller building nearby is nothing to write home about. A few dino statues are around the main building, but I’d rather send you to the final site worth taking in. Get back on your scooter / motorcycle and double-back the way you came about for about 4 kilometers. You probably noticed this dinosaur park on your way up:
It’s something like a scene out of Jurassic Park, although somehow I doubt the little dinosaurs would be carrying trash cans.
Go ahead, picture your most-hated high school teacher. Or gym teacher. Or drill sergeant. Or whoever. Picture them with this look. Go ahead, chuckle a bit. And yes, those are marbles as eyes.
I couldn’t help myself. Yep, he got me.
If you’re a dino lover, add this to your bucket list. It’s on the remote side, but worth the daytrip. Start early to pack something else in, or sleep in — you’ll have plenty of time to get everything in.
Name: Sirindhorn Museum / Phu Kum Khao Dinosaur Site Museum (พิพิธภัณฑ์แหล่งขุดค้นไดโนเสาร์ภูกุ้มข้าว)
Address: Along route 227, about a kilometer east of the Sahatsakhan Sueksa school, Non Buri, Sahatsakhan, Kalasin, 46140 (GPS: 16.694583, 103.524661)
Directions: From Kalasin city in northeast Thailand, take route 227 north and out of town. From the Phra Charya Suntorn Monument (worth a quick look to appreciate a statue holding a kettle), it’s about 33.5 kilometers. At about 29km north of town, look for the dinosaur park on your left — it’s another 4.5 km on. The entrance will be on your right, just past a school.
Hours: for the museums, 8am-5pm ; for the outdoor park, open 24 hours.
Admission: 40 baht for Thais, 100 baht for tourists — one ticket gets you into the dino museum and the site museum. The outdoor park is free.
Phone: 043–871–014
Website: An official one is at http://www.dmr.go.th/main.php?filename=Museum4_en
