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Royal, Neb. A groundbreaking event June 5, 2008, at Ashfall Fossil Beds State Historical Park near Royal will mark construction of a new 17,200 square-feet facility to allow the excavation and protection of many more fossils buried there.

Plans for the project began in 2007 when the Theodore F. and Claire M. Hubbard Family Foundation of Omaha announced a $1.2 million gift to the University of Nebraska Foundation for construction of the facility to greatly expand the current Rhino Barn.

The new enclosed facility will expand the current facility by eight times and will enable paleontologists to discover more fossils while enhancing the experiences for visitors to the park. In recognition of the family's support, the facility will be named the Hubbard Rhino Barn.

Ashfall Park is a joint project of the University of Nebraska State Museum and the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission. It contains skeletons of extinct rhinos, camels and horses lying in the volcanic ash that killed them 12 million years ago. It is a National Natural Landmark as designated by the U.S. Department of the Interior.

Priscilla Grew, director of the University of Nebraska State Museum, said the facility will allow for decades of excavation, expansion of the current display of fossil skeletons and the conservation of the state's unique fossil resource.

"This magnificent gift will enable our paleontologists to uncover new fossil discoveries and will provide protection so that the fragile exposed area of the fossil bed can be enlarged by careful scientific excavation over the coming decades," Grew said. "Visitors and school groups will be able to watch paleontologists at work on the fossils, sharing in the excitement and thrill of their discovery."

The original rhino barn on site got its name when built in 1991 because of the 50 barrel-bodied rhinoceros fossils it protects, but there are also horses, tiny saber-tooth deer, camels, cranes and turtles.

"We very much share the vision of our generous donors; we want the public to be excited about science and the natural world," Grew said. "We want visitors of all ages to be able to come to Ashfall and experience the incomparable thrill of seeing fossils revealed for the first time since they were buried in ash some 12 million years ago."

The Hubbard Foundation also announced support for a new Discovery Pavilion at the park. This facility will be used to process and research the many smaller fossils found on the site and collect the fossils found during construction of the Hubbard Rhino Barn.

Completion of the Hubbard Rhino Barn is expected in December 2008, and a public grand opening will be planned for spring 2009.

To help recognize the fossil discoveries in Nebraska, the U-Haul Company announced its release of 2,200 new 10-foot and 14-foot moving vans that feature Ashfall Fossil Beds State Historical Park. U-Haul will officially unveil its Nebraska SuperGraphic with an image of an ancient rhinoceros at the groundbreaking ceremony for the new Hubbard Rhino Barn.

Claire Hubbard, her husband, Ted Hubbard Sr., who died in 1995, and their daughter, Anne Hubbard, and son, Ted Hubbard Jr., and his wife, Colleen Hubbard, all of Omaha, are generous longtime donors to the University of Nebraska. In addition to recent gifts, the family's foundation established a paleontology education fund for the University of Nebraska State Museum. The fund has enabled the university to create education kits that will be used in classrooms across the state to teach children about the ancient elephants of Nebraska.

The Hubbards also funded two endowed chairs for cardiology faculty at the University of Nebraska Medical Center and provided support to UNO Television for production of a documentary about Madagascar.

Ashfall Fossil Beds State Historical Park is a cooperative project of the University of Nebraska State Museum and the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission. Since studies began in the 1970s more than 200 fossil skeletons from 12 species of Clarendonian Land Mammal Age have been discovered at the site located near Royal, Neb. In 2006 the park was designated a National Natural Landmark by the U.S. government and was the first to receive such distinction in more than 18 years. More information is available online at www.ashfall.unl.edu.

The University of Nebraska Foundation is a private, nonprofit corporation that has raised private gifts to support the University of Nebraska for 72 years. Last year, almost $90 million was provided for students, faculty, academic programs, research, and for campus and building improvements. More information is available at www.nufoundation.org.

# # # #
Media contacts:
Robb Crouch, Director of Public Relations
University of Nebraska Foundation
402-458-1142 or 402-304-3058
rcrouch@nufoundation.org

Priscilla Grew, Director
University of Nebraska State Museum
402-472-3779
pgrew1@unl.edu

Mark Harris, Associate Director
University of Nebraska State Museum
402-472-6699
mharris2@unl.edu

Facts about Ashfall Fossil Beds State Historical Park and the Hubbard Rhino Barn

• Ashfall Fossil Beds State Historical Park is the only known site in the world where entire three-dimensional skeletons of large prehistoric animals are preserved.
• The volcanic ash from a distant volcano near what is today Idaho killed hundreds of animals, including rhinos, camels, three-toed horses, and birds, among others, and preserved their remains in exquisite detail.
• The fossil site was discovered in 1971 when Mike Voorhies, emeritus professor and curator of vertebrate paleontology, discovered the skull of a baby rhinoceros eroding from the wall of a ravine at the edge of a cornfield on Melvin Colson's farm near Royal, Neb.
• Nebraska's newest state park, Ashfall Fossil Beds State Historical Park opened to the public on June 1, 1991. Located 6 miles north of U.S. Highway 20 between Royal and Orchard, the park is a joint project of the University of Nebraska State Museum and the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission.
• More than 350 full skeletons and 25,000 isolated fossil specimens have been documented at the site. Paleontologists are certain many more will be located in coming years inside the new Hubbard Rhino Barn.
• Of the approximately half-dozen enclosed or semi-enclosed fossil sites in North America, Ashfall Fossil Beds is the only facility where paleontologists continue to unearth large skeletons that resemble real animals.
• A portion of the large fossil bed was enclosed in 1991, giving the general public a firsthand look at the extinct animals preserved exactly as they died. All excavations at Ashfall Fossil Beds are carried out in full view of the visiting public.
• On average, about 20,000 to 30,000 people visit Ashfall Fossil Beds State Historical Park each year. Nearly 400,000 people have visited the park since it opened 17 years ago.
• Dozens of students from across the nation and around the world research Ashfall's geology and paleontology, and approximately 150 University of Nebraska students have gained practical field research experience as paleontological interns at the site. Six to eight university students work at the site at any given time.

The Hubbard Rhino Barn

• Plans to expand the enclosed fossil exploration facility began in 2007 when the Theodore F. and Claire M. Hubbard Family Foundation of Omaha announced a $1.2 million gift to the University of Nebraska Foundation.
• The new Hubbard Rhino Barn will expand the current facility by eight times. The new building will contain 17,200 square-feet of enclosed space to protect the fossil bed and allow researchers to locate even more fossil specimens.
• The expanded facility will be named after the Hubbard family and is scheduled for completion in December 2008. A public grand opening will be held in spring 2009.
• The building is called the Rhino Barn because the most common animal located at the fossil site has been the barrel-bodied rhinoceros (Teleoceros major).
• The Hubbard Family Foundation also announced funding for a new Discovery Pavilion under construction at the park. This facility will be used to process and research the many smaller fossils found at the park and to collect the fossils found during construction of the Hubbard Rhino Barn.