FORT WAYNE, Ind. — After a week of teasers, Purdue University Fort Wayne is just about ready to officially share on Tuesday all the details about its new display case at Walb Student Union. It contains PFW’s famous mastodon skeleton that’s been in need of a permanent home on campus for more than a half-century.
It’s been 56 years since the bones were discovered, 55 since the student body adopted the mastodon as the university’s mascot, and eight years since they were last displayed out in the open at Kettler Hall.
In addition to releasing at 7:45 a.m. a package of communications pieces describing this fascinating journey all the way to its impressive conclusion, two faculty members who have helped keep the project alive for quite some time are also stopping by the glass case between 10 and 11 a.m. to answer questions and share their reflections now that the dust has settled.
Scott Bergeson, an assistant professor of biology who is one of the two caretakers of the bones since 2016, and James Farlow, an emeritus professor of geology and adjunct professor of biology who has been involved with project since the mid-1980s, are both schedued to visit the display, which is located just before the International Ballroom and near the student union’s new Herd Hideaway.
