Prehistoric Planet Store - Replica fossils including dinosaurs like T. rex, Triceratops, and more!

The Plaster Jacket Authentic Dinosaur Bone Dig

The Plaster Jacket
Inside this Plaster “Field’ Jacket is an authentic piece of 66 million year old dinosaur bone from the Cretaceous Period of South Dakota. The Plaster Jacket is how delicate dinosaur bones and fossils have been protected and removed from the field for over 150 years. Simply put, a plaster jacket is placed on dinosaur bones and fossils just like a cast is put on a broken bone. The plaster jacket holds the bones and fossils together for safe transport back to the museum lab. In the lab the jacket is cut open and the bones or fossils are carefully removed and preserved for study and display. Modern plaster jackets are constructed by tightly placing aluminum foil over the bone or fossil followed by layers of burlap or cloth strips soaked in plaster in crisscross pattern.

To uncover your fossil dinosaur bone gently chip away the plaster to reveal the foil then carefully remove the foil from the bone. Display your authentic bone as desired. It is probably from Triceratops or Hadrosaur.